Intra-individual variation of basal metabolic rate and the influence of daily habitual physical activity before testing

M. Adriaens*, P.F.M. Schoffelen, K.R. Westerterp

*Corresponding author for this work

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Abstract

Intra-individual variation of basal metabolic rate and the influence of daily habitual physical activity before testing.

Adriaens MP, Schoffelen PF, Westerterp KR.

Department of Human Biology, Maastricht University, PO Box 616, 6200 MD Maastricht, The Netherlands. M.adriaens@HB.Unimaas.nl

The present study determined the intra-individual variation of BMR measurements, using a standard out-patient protocol, with the subjects transporting themselves to the laboratory for the BMR measurements after spending the night at home. The effect of a non-fasting state and variation in daily habitual physical activity the day before testing was evaluated. Eight male and eleven female subjects participated in three BMR measurements with 2-week intervals. Physical activity was estimated with a tri-axial accelerometer for movement registration, during the 3 d before each BMR measurement. There were no significant differences in estimated BMR (ANOVA repeated measures, P=0.88) and in physical activity (ANOVA repeated measures, P=0.21). Mean within-subject CV in BMR was found to be 3.3 (SD 2.1) %, ranging from 0.4 to 7.2 %. Differences between BMR measurements could not be explained by differences in physical activity the day before; however the mean within-subject CV in BMR changed from 5.7 to 5.2 % after correcting for within-machine variability and from 5.2 to 3.3 % after excluding five measurements because of non-compliance to the protocol including fasting. In conclusion, BMR values measured with a standard out-patient protocol are sufficiently reproducible for most practical purposes despite the within-subject variability in physical activity the day before the measurement. For this purpose, however, non-fasting subjects must be excluded and a regular function check of the ventilated-hood system is recommendable
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)419-423
Number of pages4
JournalBritish Journal of Nutrition
Volume90
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2003

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