Minnesota Starvation Experiment

[elkhound]

Minnesota Starvation Experiment

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_Starvation_Experiment

1. Control Period (12 weeks): This was a standardization period when the subjects received a controlled diet of approximately 3,200 kilocalories of food each day. The diet of the subjects who were close to their "ideal" weight was adjusted so as to maintain caloric balance, while the diets of the underweight and overweight individuals was adjusted so as to bring them close to their ideal weight. On average, the group ended up slightly below their "ideal" weight.[2]:74 In addition, the clinical staff of the Laboratory of Physiological Hygiene routinely conducted a series of anthropometric, physiological and psychological tests designed to characterize the physical and mental health of each participant under normal conditions.
2. Semi-Starvation Period (24 weeks): During the 6-month semi-starvation period, each subject's dietary intake was cut to approximately 1,560 kilocalories per day. Their meals were composed of foods that were expected to typify the diets of people in Europe during the latter stages of the war: potatoes, rutabagas, turnips, bread and macaroni.
3. Restricted Rehabilitation Period (12 weeks): The participants were divided into four groups of eight men; each group received a strictly-controlled rehabilitation diet, consisting of one of four different caloric energy levels. In each energy-level group, the men were further subdivided into subgroups receiving differing regimens of protein and vitamin supplements. In this manner, the clinical staff examined various energy, protein and vitamin strategies for re-nourishing the subjects from the conditions of famine induced during the semi-starvation period.
4. Unrestricted Rehabilitation Period (8 weeks): For the final rehabilitation period, caloric intake and food content was unrestricted but carefully recorded and monitored.

 

[elkhound]

a talk from guy in this experiment...lots of information to glean for survival.

 

[Sentry18]

Very interesting information, thank you for posting. A lot to be gleaned from that.

 

[elkhound]

Very interesting information, thank you for posting. A lot to be gleaned from that.

read this pdf....it has many fascinating bits to think about in a shtf situation and starving and recovery...a few pictures too

https://archive.wphna.org/wp-conten...-Mad-Science-Museum-Ancel-Keys-Starvation.pdf

 

[Bacpacker]

That is a very interesting report. I'd never heard of this before this thread.

 

[elkhound]

6-3-23 this came out a few days ago and its an interesting talk. she says there will be more so i am putting it here in this old thread.

 

[Patchouli]

Oh cool. Note to self: no thru hike on the AT for me after all.

 

[elkhound]

Oh cool. Note to self: no thru hike on the AT for me after all.

Its not really about the AT.....its about eating around 1500-1600 calories a day and starving to death in a shtf . you need way mre calories per day especially if you are doing lots of work outside..like hauling water,gardening,chopping firewood etc.

do a search on calories of men/women and test on yourself.

if i eat 1500-2000cal a day i start losing weight fast. i have done this several times and just doing mild physical activity i burn 2500-4000cal a day. if i pounded trail all day pulling mtns,chopping wood,hauling water etc. and such it probably be way more.

 

[elkhound]

Oh cool. Note to self: no thru hike on the AT for me after all.

you can do it you just have to dump high calorie goods down . i see hikers and they all talk about hiker hunger.it takes calories to hike . mtn climbing friends always put slugs of oil in with their food to up the calories and often at high altitude they said they took a slug off the oil bottle before crawling into sleeping bag.

 

[Patchouli]

Right, it’s about weight loss, like when there’s not much food, and what happens to the body. I could have mentioned starvation that will happen when all this apocalyptic stuff occurs, etc. But I’ve always wanted to do the AT, however being as small as I am, weight wise, even carrying enough food and water for 3 days as well as camp stuff, would be a challenge, which I realized anyway but maybe a few years ago when I weighed more would have barely been okay.
I don’t have time to test myself on a half starvation diet. The results would not be in my favor.

 

[elkhound]

Right, it’s about weight loss, like when there’s not much food, and what happens to the body. I could have mentioned starvation that will happen when all this apocalyptic stuff occurs, etc. But I’ve always wanted to do the AT, however being as small as I am, weight wise, even carrying enough food and water for 3 days as well as camp stuff, would be a challenge, which I realized anyway but maybe a few years ago when I weighed more would have barely been okay.
I don’t have time to test myself on a half starvation diet. The results would not be in my favor.

if you are thin then you would really have to eat high concentrated calories for sure.

dont let that defeat you though. dont look at doing the entire trail...do a shorter trail or a section of any trail and see how it goes. you might do better than you think too.

i can do what i use to do but i am doing more than i have been. i walked trail every day last week for 7 days . just done short walks at end of the day mostly...but put in several miles.i am to the point of needing a steeper section to build more strength pulling the mtns more than what i am doing now.

 

[Bacpacker]

Many AT thru hikers consume 4000-6000 calories per day. I've done a 2 week stretch on trail and lost some weight. After the first 3 days I got to the point I was always hungry.

 

[Dani]

Did anyone ask why Minnesota wanted or needed a starvation diet study? Just saying that is odd, unless your own Government is getting people ready to accept less food availabilty?

 

[elkhound]

Did anyone ask why Minnesota wanted or needed a starvation diet study? Just saying that is odd, unless your own Government is getting people ready to accept less food availabilty?

it was back in ww2 and these guys were conscientious objectors mostly but wanted to serve their country so they volunteered for this. the dr. over it was trying to figure out how to feed a devastated area/population in europe.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_Starvation_Experiment

The Minnesota Starvation Experiment, also known as the Minnesota Semi-Starvation Experiment, the Minnesota Starvation-Recovery Experiment and the Starvation Study, was a clinical study performed at the University of Minnesota between November 19, 1944, and December 20, 1945. The investigation was designed to determine the physiological effects of severe and prolonged dietary restriction and the effectiveness of dietary rehabilitation strategies.

The purpose of the study was twofold: first, to produce a definitive treatise on the physical and psychological effects of prolonged, famine-like semi-starvation on healthy men, as well as subsequent effectiveness of dietary rehabilitation from this condition and, second, to use the scientific results produced to guide the Allied relief assistance to famine victims in Europe and Asia at the end of World War II. It was recognized early in 1944 that millions of people were in grave danger of mass famine as a result of the conflict, and information was needed regarding the effects of semi-starvation—and the impact of various rehabilitation strategies—if postwar relief efforts were to be effective.[citation needed]

The study was developed in coordination with the Civilian Public Service (CPS, 1941–1947) of conscientious objectors and the Selective Service System and used 36 men selected from a pool of over 200 CPS volunteers.[1]: 46 

The study was divided into four phases: A twelve-week baseline control phase; a 24-week starvation phase, causing each participant to lose an average of 25% of his pre-starvation body weight; and 2 recovery phases, in which various rehabilitative diets were tried. The first rehabilitative stage was restricted by eating 2,000–3,000 calories a day. The second rehab phase was unrestricted letting the subjects eat as much food as they would like.

 

[elkhound]

Many AT thru hikers consume 4000-6000 calories per day. I've done a 2 week stretch on trail and lost some weight. After the first 3 days I got to the point I was always hungry.

my work partner in alaska ate 10,000 calories a day. i kid you not...you know the big 1# candy bars. he ate them like everyone else ate a regular candy bar.he had high metabolism and was super active and burned tons of calories and was one of these guys with less than 1% body fat.it was sight to see him eat i tell ya.

 

[Bacpacker]

One year when we were on a week long hike in January, our first night out a solo thru hiker named Ken showed up early in the afternoon. There was six of us. Wasnt long till we started cooking (and we always had way too much good food), and included him as we passed around our meals for all to sample like we always did. Ken lit up and ate like he was starving. We dug deep in our food bags until he couldn't eat more.
He was up and gone before we got up the next morning. We had exchanged phone numbers and when he arrived at Fontana day he called and asked for help. He had broke his pack frame and wanted to see if we could do anything to help. Me and one of the other guys drove there and picked him up and brought him back to the other guys house. He called the pack vendor and they shipped him a new one 2nd day UPS. We loaded him up and got him back to the dam.
In March we got another call from him wanting to visit with the 6 of us and present a slide show he had done of his hike. We all had a great time and ate a feast once again to celebrate. Ken told us he was in such a good frame of mind he did nearly 30 miles the day he left us.

My apologies for hijacking the thread.

 

[Neb]

One year when we were on a week long hike in January, our first night out a solo thru hiker named Ken showed up early in the afternoon. There was six of us. Wasnt long till we started cooking (and we always had way too much good food), and included him as we passed around our meals for all to sample like we always did. Ken lit up and ate like he was starving. We dug deep in our food bags until he couldn't eat more.
He was up and gone before we got up the next morning. We had exchanged phone numbers and when he arrived at Fontana day he called and asked for help. He had broke his pack frame and wanted to see if we could do anything to help. Me and one of the other guys drove there and picked him up and brought him back to the other guys house. He called the pack vendor and they shipped him a new one 2nd day UPS. We loaded him up and got him back to the dam.
In March we got another call from him wanting to visit with the 6 of us and present a slide show he had done of his hike. We all had a great time and ate a feast once again to celebrate. Ken told us he was in such a good frame of mind he did nearly 30 miles the day he left us.

My apologies for hijacking the thread.

Wow!

The most I ever did on the AP trail was 14 miles in a day.

Ben

 

[elkhound]

the last bit i been watching a mom and her 4 boys hike. in 2021 they hiked the AT.then in 2022 they hiked the PCT.now they are hiking the CT..but before they started this spring while waiting on snows to melt a bit on border they hiked a 300 mile short trail and ran a marathon.youngest is now 13 and oldest is 17...anyhow i seen them pound out 47 miles in a day. often they do 30 plus miles on PCT.mom and dad is raising a bunch of great young men.