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Inescapable hunger? Energy cost accounting and the costs of digestion, pregnancy, and lactation
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-08, 15:32 authored by Eric B SchneiderThis paper adjusts reconstructions of per capita food consumption in England from the eighteenth to twentieth centuries by factoring in the energy costs of digestion, pregnancy, and lactation. Digestion costs arise because the body has difficulty digesting certain components of food. Incorporating digestion costs reduced the calories available per capita by 12.7 per cent in 1700 but only by 4.9 per cent in 1909 because of changes in diet. The energy costs of pregnancy and lactation were lower only reducing calorie consumption by 2.5 per cent. These adjustments suggest a more pessimistic level of calorie availability before the twentieth century.
History
Publication status
- Published
Journal
European Review of Economic HistoryISSN
1361-4916Publisher
Oxford University PressExternal DOI
Issue
3Volume
17Page range
340-363Department affiliated with
- History Publications
Full text available
- No
Peer reviewed?
- Yes
Legacy Posted Date
2013-08-29Usage metrics
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