Is the SenseWear Armband accurate enough to quantify and estimate energy expenditure in healthy adults?

Abstract

The SenseWear Armband (SWA) is a monitor that can be used to estimate energy expenditure (EE); however, it has not been validated in healthy adults. The objective of this paper was to study the validity of the SWA for quantifying EE levels. Twenty-three healthy adults (age 40-55 years, mean: 48±3.42 years) performed different types of standardized physical activity (PA) for 10 minutes (rest, walking at 3 and 5 km·h-1, running at 7 and 9 km·h-1, and sitting/standing at a rate of 30 cycle·min-1). Participants wore the SWA on their right arm, and their EE was measured by indirect calorimetry (IC) the gold standard. There were significant differences between the SWA and IC, except in the group that ran at 9 km·h-1 (>9 METs). Bland-Altman analysis showed a BIAS of 1.56 METs (±1.83 METs) and limits of agreement (LOA) at 95% of -2.03 to 5.16 METs. There were indications of heteroscedasticity (R2 =0.03; P<0.05). Analysis of the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves showed that the SWA seems to be not sensitive enough to estimate the level of EE at highest intensities. The SWA is not as precise in estimating EE as IC, but it could be a useful tool to determine levels of EE at low intensities.