The measurement of daily energy expenditure—an evaluation of some techniques

Abstract

An energy balance survey was conducted on an Antarctic base on 12 individuals for periods varying between 6 and 12 months. Energy expenditure was estimated using two activity/dairy card techniques and mean 24-hr heart rate used in conjunction with a variety of derived heart rate/energy expenditure regression equations. The accuracy of the various techniques was determined by comparison with estimates obtained using energy intakes and changes in body fat. No method of measuring energy expenditure was accurate enough to predict fat gain or loss. Errors in individuals were large and random but the mean error in the estimation of energy expenditure of the community was reasonable. When using the dairy card there was no difference between using measured values for energy costs of specific activities and using values taken from the literature. Using heart rate was no less accurate than the diary card if energy expenditure was predicted from a regression line derived from heart rate and log energy expenditure, and the technique was more acceptable to the subjects.