Total energy expenditure is repeatable in adults but not associated with short-term changes in body composition
Rebecca Rimbach, Yosuke Yamada, Hiroyuki Sagayama, Philip N. Ainslie, Lene F. Anderson, Liam Anderson, Lenore Arab, Issad Baddou, Kweku Bedu-Addo, Ellen E. Blaak, Stéphane Blanc, A. Bonomi, Carlijn V. C. Bouten, Pascal Bovet, Maciej S. Buchowski, Nancy F. Butte, Stefan Gerardus Camps, Graeme L. Close, Jamie A. Cooper, Sai Krupa Das, Lara R. Dugas, Ulf Ekelund, Sonja Entringer, Terrence Forrester, Barry W. Fudge, Annelies Goris, Michael Gurven, Catherine Hambly, Asmaa El Hamdouchi, Marije B. Hoos, Sumei Hu, Noorjehan Joonas, Annemiek M. Joosen, Peter T. Katzmarzyk, Kitty P. Kempen, Misaka Kimura, William E. Kraus, Robert F. Kushner, Estelle V. Lambert, William R. Leonard, Nader Lessan, Corby K. Martin, Anine Christine Medin, Erwin P. Meijer, James C. Morehen, James P. Morton, Marian L. Neuhouser, Theresa A. Nicklas, Robert Ojiambo, Kirsi H. Pietiläinen, Yannis Pitsiladis, Jacob Plange‐Rhule, Guy Plasqui, Ross L. Prentice, Roberto Rabinovich, Susan B. Racette, David A. Raichlen, Éric Ravussin, Rebecca M. Reynolds, Susan B. Roberts, Albertine J. Schuit, Anders Sjödin, Eric Stice, Samuel S. Urlacher, Giulio Valenti, Ludo M. Van Etten, Edgar van Mil, Jonathan C. K. Wells, George Wilson, Brian M. Wood, Jack A. Yanovski, Tsukasa Yoshida, Xueying Zhang, Alexia J. Murphy‐Alford, Cornelia Loechl, Amy Luke, Jennifer Rood, Dale A. Schoeller, Klaas R. Westerterp, William W. Wong, John R. Speakman, Herman Pontzer, John R. Speakman
Abstract
Low total energy expenditure (TEE, MJ/d) has been a hypothesized risk factor for weight gain, but repeatability of TEE, a critical variable in longitudinal studies of energy balance, is understudied. We examine repeated doubly labeled water (DLW) measurements of TEE in 348 adults and 47 children from the IAEA DLW Database (mean ± SD time interval: 1.9 ± 2.9 y) to assess repeatability of TEE, and to examine if TEE adjusted for age, sex, fat-free mass, and fat mass is associated with changes in weight or body composition. Here, we report that repeatability of TEE is high for adults, but not children. Bivariate Bayesian mixed models show no among or within-individual correlation between body composition (fat mass or percentage) and unadjusted TEE in adults. For adults aged 20-60 y (N = 267; time interval: 7.4 ± 12.2 weeks), increases in adjusted TEE are associated with weight gain but not with changes in body composition; results are similar for subjects with intervals >4 weeks (N = 53; 29.1 ± 12.8 weeks). This suggests low TEE is not a risk factor for, and high TEE is not protective against, weight or body fat gain over the time intervals tested.