Abstract
Dr J.P. Flatt, one of the nation's most distinguished thinkers in metabolism, describes how the body's use of carbohydrates and fats is like how one handles money. Carbohydrate is like cash; both are kept only in limited amounts, in the wallet, or as glycogen in the liver and in muscle. Fat is handled like checks, of which substantial reserves are maintained, as body fat or in a bank account. This analogy is developed using a boy's earnings, his expenses, and his savings. The amount of cash in his wallet influences his actions much more than does the level of his savings account at the bank. For the same fundamental reasons, namely, the difference in the size of the reserves, the body's metabolism and appetite regulation are influenced to a much greater extent by variations in its glycogen stores than by changes in its fat reserves.