Published online by Cambridge University Press: 19 January 2009
1. An attempt was made to measure body volume and body fat in malnourished children using the same closed-circuit apparatus for both determinations. If these measurements were sufficiently accurate, they would enable total body protein to be calculated.
2. A helium dilution technique was used to estimate the volume of the child. Although highly reproducible measurements were obrained for the volume of inanimate objects by this techinque, the results with children were erratic.
3. The fat stores of the child were determind by measuring the amount of cyclopropane (C2H4) which would dissolve in the body. This technique gave acceptable answers with marasmic children who have little subcutaneous fat, but with obese children equilibrium could not be obtained in an acceptably short period of time. It is not practicable to calculate the equilibrium concentration by extrapolation of the uptake curve in obese children.