Minnesota Starvation Experiment
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_Starvation_Experiment
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_Starvation_Experiment
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Unrestricted Rehabilitation Period (8 weeks): For the final rehabilitation period, caloric intake and food content was unrestricted but carefully recorded and monitored.