Comparative Analysis of the Indirect Calorimetry and the Metabolic Power Method to Calculate Energy Expenditure in Team Handball

Patrick Fuchs,Herbert Wagner,Live S Luteberget,Philip X Fuchs

doi:10.3390/app12010163

Abstract

Monitoring physical activity, e.g., training load and energy expenditure (EE), is important to optimize the training process in various sports. Especially in team handball, where there is little information about EE in training and competition. The objective of the study was to compare EE in team handball derived from a respiratory gas exchange analysis (spiroergometry) and a local position measurement (LPM) system. Eleven participants completed a validated, team handball game-based performance test and wore a portable spiroergometry system (K5 Cosmed) and an LPM transponder (Catapult ClearSky T6). EE was determined via indirect calorimetry for spiroergometry data and via the metabolic power model for EE for LPM data. EE estimated via the metabolic power model was −66 to −63 ± 12% lower than via indirect calorimetry (p < 0.001, pη2 = 0.97). No correlation was found for the overall test (r = 0.32, p = 0.34), nor for every single heat (r ≤ 0.44, 0.18 ≤ p ≤ 0.99). Therefore, regression analyses predicting spiroergometry data based on LPM data were not feasible. In line with previous studies, the metabolic power model for EE in team handball (including short-distance movements, great accelerations, and non-locomotive actions) is not suitable.

Highlights

Monitoring physical activity, e.g., training load and energy expenditure (EE), is important to optimize the training process in various sports [1,2,3]
All single heats differed between EESpiro and EELPM (15.86 ≤ t(10) ≤ 19.35, p < 0.001, pη2 = 0.97), and no heat showed a significant correlation between the systems (0.18 ≤ p ≤ 1, r ≤ 0.44) (Table 2)
We suggest that the difference between EELPM and EESpiro increases with more specificity; the sport-specific actions play a major role in the estimation of EE in team sports

Summary

Introduction

Monitoring physical activity, e.g., training load and energy expenditure (EE), is important to optimize the training process in various sports [1,2,3]. Studies on EE in team sports collected respiratory data based on movements that may be common in general but not appropriately reflect the sport-specific demands [7,8]. Due to this deficit, the metabolic power model of EE determined by local position measuring (LPM) data was developed [9]. The metabolic power model of EE determined by local position measuring (LPM) data was developed [9] The strength of this method is its applicability in competition because EE (EELPM) can be determined via an LPM system, and no spiroergometry system is necessary to estimate EE. One explanation is that LPM usually measures only horizontal position data, which do not reflect EE for specific movements like collisions, jumps, passes, and shots; the demand for such actions is not considered properly in LPM data [12,13]

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Discussion

Conclusion