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Energy expenditure and body composition

Measuring energy expenditure in clinical populations: rewards and challenges

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 67, pages 436–442 (2013)Cite this article

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Abstract

The measurement of energy expenditure (EE) is recommended as an important component of comprehensive clinical nutrition assessments in patients with altered metabolic states, who failed to respond to nutrition support and with critical illness that require individualized nutrition support. There is evidence that EE is variable in patients with metabolic diseases, such as chronic renal disease, cirrhosis, HIV, cancer cachexia, cystic fibrosis and patients under intensive care. By using appropriate techniques and interpretations of basal or resting EE, clinicians can facilitate the adequate nutrition support with minimum negative impacts from under- or overfeeding in these patients. This review is based on our current understanding of the different components of EE and the techniques to measure them, and to re-examine advances and challenges to determine energy needs in clinical populations with more focuses on the obese, pediatric and elderly patients. In addition, technological advances have expanded the choices of market-available equipments for assessing EE, which also bring specific challenges and rewards in selecting the right equipment with specific performance criteria. Lastly, analytical considerations of interpreting the results of EE in the context of changing body composition are presented and discussed.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Ms Rachel Perron and Dr Lilian de Jonge for their help in this review. This work was funded by NIH Intramural research funding resources (NIDDK Z01 DK071013, Z01 DK071014 and Clinical Center).

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  1. Nutrition Department, Clinical Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA

    T Psota

  2. Diabetes, Endocrinology and Obesity Branch, National Institutes of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA

    K Y Chen

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Psota, T., Chen, K. Measuring energy expenditure in clinical populations: rewards and challenges. Eur J Clin Nutr 67, 436–442 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2013.38

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