He described the death of those who overindulged in food after the famine, whereas those who ate at a more restrained pace survived.There were numerous cases of refeeding syndrome in the Siege of Leningrad during World War II, with Soviet civilians trapped in the city having becoming malnourished due to the German blockade. (Machado).A common error, repeated in multiple papers, is that "The syndrome was first described after World War II in Americans who, held by the Japanese as prisoners of war, had become malnourished during captivity and who were then released to the care of United States personnel in the Philippines." However, closer inspection of the 1951 paper by Schnitker reveals the prisoners under study were not American POWs but Japanese soldiers who, already malnourished, surrendered in the Philippines during 1945, after the war was over.It is difficult to ascertain when the syndrome was first discovered and named, but it is likely the associated electrolyte disturbances were identified perhaps in Holland, the Netherlands during the closing months of World War II. See also
Minnesota Starvation Experiment

References
Bibliography
Shils, M.E., Shike, M., Ross, A.C., Caballero, B. & Cousins, R.J.  (2006). Modern nutrition in health and disease, 10th ed. Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins. Baltimore, MD. Mahan, L.K. & Escott-Stump, S.E. (2004) Krauses Food, Nutrition, & Diet Therapy, 11th ed. Saunders, Philadelphia, PA. Hearing S (2004). "Refeeding syndrome: Is underdiagnosed and undertreated, but treatable". BMJ. 328 (7445): 908–9. doi:10.1136/bmj.328.7445.908. PMC 390152. PMID 15087326. Crook M, Hally V, Panteli J (2001). "The importance of the refeeding syndrome". Nutrition. 17 (7–8): 632–7.
Refeeding syndrome is a metabolic disturbance that occurs as a result of reinstitution of nutrition in people and animals who are starved, severely malnourished, or metabolically stressed because of severe illness. When too much food or liquid nutrition supplement is eaten during the initial four to seven days following a malnutrition event, the production of glycogen, fat and protein in cells may cause low serum concentrations of potassium, magnesium and phosphate. Cardiac, pulmonary and neurological symptoms can be signs of refeeding syndrome. The low serum minerals, if severe enough, can be fatal. Cause
Any individual who has had a negligible nutrient intake for many consecutive days and/or is metabolically stressed from a critical illness or major surgery is at risk of refeeding syndrome. Refeeding syndrome usually occurs within four days of starting to re-feed. Patients can develop fluid and electrolyte imbalance, especially hypophosphatemia, along with neurologic, pulmonary, cardiac, neuromuscular, and hematologic complications.During fasting, the body switches its main fuel source from carbohydrates to fat tissue fatty acids and amino acids as the main energy sources. The spleen decreases its rate of red blood cell breakdown thus conserving red blood cells. Many intracellular minerals become severely depleted during this period, although serum levels remain normal. Importantly, insulin secretion is suppressed in this fasting state, and glucagon secretion is increased.During refeeding, insulin secretion resumes in response to increased blood sugar, resulting in increased glycogen, fat, and protein synthesis. Refeeding increases the basal metabolic rate.