Suzana Herculano-Houzel
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- September 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780262034258
- eISBN:
- 9780262333214
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262034258.003.0009
- Subject:
- Neuroscience, Behavioral Neuroscience
Human brain is 2% of body mass, but costs 25% of body energy budget; the glia/neuron ratio increases with average neuronal cell size, not brain size; glial cells as source of energy for neurons; ...
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Human brain is 2% of body mass, but costs 25% of body energy budget; the glia/neuron ratio increases with average neuronal cell size, not brain size; glial cells as source of energy for neurons; energy cost of neurons; energy cost of brain is proportional to number of neurons; the human brain costs a lot of energy because it has a lot of neuronsLess
Human brain is 2% of body mass, but costs 25% of body energy budget; the glia/neuron ratio increases with average neuronal cell size, not brain size; glial cells as source of energy for neurons; energy cost of neurons; energy cost of brain is proportional to number of neurons; the human brain costs a lot of energy because it has a lot of neurons
Marina Sorrentino
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- March 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780199944590
- eISBN:
- 9780190218850
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199944590.003.0002
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Economic History
The chapter focuses on how Italy’s economic growth enabled the spread of improvements in the diet of the Italian population. According to mid-nineteenth-century observers, nourishment was likely to ...
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The chapter focuses on how Italy’s economic growth enabled the spread of improvements in the diet of the Italian population. According to mid-nineteenth-century observers, nourishment was likely to be a daily torment for the major part of the population. In contrast, we estimate that in the aftermath of Italy’s unification (1861) the daily calories available to the average Italian exceeded 2,500, a value that is higher than that commonly used today to mark the threshold of undernutrition in developing countries. A high per-capita calorie availability is consistent with the presence of a sizable part of the population trying to make ends meet. In 1861 one person in two (perhaps even two in three) did not consume enough calories to lead a healthy life. In the case of Italy, macroeconomic data hide more than they reveal.Less
The chapter focuses on how Italy’s economic growth enabled the spread of improvements in the diet of the Italian population. According to mid-nineteenth-century observers, nourishment was likely to be a daily torment for the major part of the population. In contrast, we estimate that in the aftermath of Italy’s unification (1861) the daily calories available to the average Italian exceeded 2,500, a value that is higher than that commonly used today to mark the threshold of undernutrition in developing countries. A high per-capita calorie availability is consistent with the presence of a sizable part of the population trying to make ends meet. In 1861 one person in two (perhaps even two in three) did not consume enough calories to lead a healthy life. In the case of Italy, macroeconomic data hide more than they reveal.
