Study of energy expenditure and food intake of some working class people of Bangladesh.
No information is available on energy expenditure and dietary intake of Bangladesh population carried out simultaneously. As a preliminary step in this direction, forty volunteers mostly from the low socio-economic groups were subjected to these studies for a 3-4 day period. Indirect calorimetric method was used for the measurement of oxygen consumption and energy expenditure. Actual weighing of food articles were carried out before consumption and values calculated from standard tables. It was found that values obtained during rest like sitting and lying including basal metabolic rate (BMR) fell within values reported in the literature. Resting energy expenditure, however, tended to rise in the later part of the day and the degree of physical  activity carried out by the subjects. Rickshawpedalling required 6.66 Kcal/min to be expended without passenger and 7.84 Kcal/min with two passengers. Cartpulling required 5.5 Kcal/min without load compared to 6.08 Kcal/min with a load of 350 kg. The small difference was obviously due to a reduction in the speed of cartpulling. This was, however, not true with rickshawpedallers. Dietary intake showed that all the subjects were getting a low protein and low fat diet and that carbohydrates were the main source (over 80%) of calories. The doctors were the only group receiving some animal protein and the cartpullars eating almost none. The number of calories taken were consistent with their activities. One rickshawpedaller had an unusually high intake of over 6000 calories daily.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001459:Bangladesh; D001481:Basal Metabolism; D002648:Child; D004032:Diet; D002149:Energy Intake; D004734:Energy Metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012923:Social Class