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Total daily energy expenditure has declined over the past three decades due to declining basal expenditure, not reduced activity expenditure
Speakman,John R. de Jong,Jasper M.A. Sinha,Srishti Westerterp,Klaas R. Yamada,Yosuke Sagayama,Hiroyuki Ainslie,Philip N. Anderson,Liam J. Arab,Lenore Bedu-Addo,Kweku
Speakman,John R.
de Jong,Jasper M.A.
Sinha,Srishti
Westerterp,Klaas R.
Yamada,Yosuke
Sagayama,Hiroyuki
Ainslie,Philip N.
Anderson,Liam J.
Arab,Lenore
Bedu-Addo,Kweku
Abstract
Obesity is caused by a prolonged positive energy balance1,2. Whether reduced energy expenditure stemming from reduced activity levels contributes is debated3,4. Here we show that in both sexes, total energy expenditure (TEE) adjusted for body composition and age declined since the late 1980s, while adjusted activity energy expenditure increased over time. We use the International Atomic Energy Agency Doubly Labelled Water database on energy expenditure of adults in the United States and Europe (n = 4,799) to explore patterns in total (TEE: n = 4,799), basal (BEE: n = 1,432) and physical activity energy expenditure (n = 1,432) over time. In males, adjusted BEE decreased significantly, but in females this did not reach significance. A larger dataset of basal metabolic rate (equivalent to BEE) measurements of 9,912 adults across 163 studies spanning 100 years replicates the decline in BEE in both sexes. We conclude that increasing obesity in the United States/Europe has probably not been fuelled by reduced physical activity leading to lowered TEE. We identify here a decline in adjusted BEE as a previously unrecognized factor.
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Funding Information: The authors gratefully acknowledge funding to directly support this work as well as funding for the original studies that contributed to the database that are not listed individually here. In particular, direct support grants CAS 153E11KYSB20190045 from the Chinese Academy of Sciences to J.R.S. and grant BCS-1824466 from the National Science Foundation of the United States to H.P. are gratefully acknowledged etc.
Date
2023
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Basal Metabolism, Energy Metabolism, Exercise, Female, Health Expenditures, Humans, Male, Obesity/metabolism, United States, SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being
Citation
Speakman, J R, de Jong, J M A, Sinha, S, Westerterp, K R, Yamada, Y, Sagayama, H, Ainslie, P N, Anderson, L J, Arab, L, Bedu-Addo, K, Blanc, S, Bonomi, A G, Bovet, P, Brage, S, Buchowski, M S, Butte, N F, Camps, S G J A, Cooper, J A, Cooper, R, Das, S K, Davies, P S W, Dugas, L R, Ekelund, U, Entringer, S, Forrester, T, Fudge, B W, Gillingham, M, Ghosh, S, Goris, A H, Gurven, M, Halsey, L G, Hambly, C, Haisma, H H, Hoffman, D, Hu, S, Joosen, A M, Kaplan, J L, Katzmarzyk, P, Kraus, W E, Kushner, R F, Leonard, W R, Löf, M, Martin, C K, Matsiko, E, Medin, A C, Meijer, E P, Neuhouser, M L, Nicklas, T A, Ojiambo, R M, Pietiläinen, K H, Plange-Rhule, J, Plasqui, G, Prentice, R L, Racette, S B, Raichlen, D A, Ravussin, E, Redman, L M, Roberts, S B, Rudolph, M C, Sardinha, L B, Schuit, A J, Silva, A M, Stice, E, Urlacher, S S, Valenti, G, Van Etten, L M, Van Mil, E A, Wood, B M, Yanovski, J A, Yoshida, T, Zhang, X, Murphy-Alford, A J, Loechl, C U, Kurpad, A, Luke, A H, Pontzer, H, Rodeheffer, M S, Rood, J, Schoeller, D A & Wong, W W 2023, 'Total daily energy expenditure has declined over the past three decades due to declining basal expenditure, not reduced activity expenditure', Nature Metabolism, vol. 5, no. 4, pp. 579-588. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42255-023-00782-2