Resting energy expenditure; assessment methods and applications.
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Narrative review summarizing resting energy expenditure methods without systematic methodology or primary human data.
PubMed 25719792 · doi:10.3305/nh.2015.31.sup3.8772
What was done
This narrative review describes the components of total daily energy expenditure—basal metabolic rate, endogenous thermogenesis, and activity-related expenditure—and evaluates technologies used to measure or estimate resting energy expenditure (REE), including indirect calorimetry, bioelectrical impedance, doubly labeled water, and predictive equations.
What was found
Basal metabolic rate represents 60% to 70% of total energy expenditure in sedentary adults and approximately 50% in physically active individuals, varying mainly with lean body mass. The review notes that oxygen consumption measurement via indirect calorimetry offers the greatest precision among available methods, and advances in portable equipment have improved its clinical utility. No comparative quantitative statistics or error rates across methods were provided in the abstract.
Why it matters
Accurate determination of energy requirements is essential for individualizing nutritional therapy, and understanding the practical limits of predictive formulas versus indirect calorimetry informs clinical decision-making.
Limits
This is an unstructured narrative review without systematic search criteria or formal study quality appraisal. The abstract provides no primary data, sample sizes, or numerical comparisons of the diagnostic accuracy of the reviewed techniques.
Cited by
- supports Basal metabolic rate accounts for approximately 50% to 70% of total daily energy expenditure in most individuals.