Study of the factors influencing the composition of beef fat

Abstract

The views upon the origin of body fat have undergone a number of changes in the last sixty or seventy years. These views have changed from the idea that body fat originated from the ingested fat to the later views that it originated from either protein or carbohydrate or a mixture of these. Each investigator has questioned the theories of the others until at the present time one is able to find a great deal of material in support of any one view. During the progress of the nutrition investigations begun at the Missouri Experiment Station in the spring of 1907, a considerable number of beef animals have been slaughtered. Most of these animals were secured at birth and were fed for definite conditions of development. This investigation was undertaken to study the composition of the fats from the different parts of the animal to show in what manner the composition may be influenced by age and condition.