Energy need in childhood and adult-onset obese women before and after a nine-month nutrition education and walking program.
The effect of a 9-month nutrition education and walking program on total calorie need, resting metabolic rate (RMR), thermic effect of food (TEF), body composition, and activity level was determined in seven women (28-41 years of age) with childhood-onset obesity (CO) and eight women (29-42 years of age) with adult-onset obesity (AO). A 3-week testing period was conducted before and after the 9-month program during which all subjects were fed a controlled, weight-maintaining metabolic diet which was used to determine daily calorie need. Body composition, RMR, and TEF were measured during the second and third weeks of both 3-week testing periods. Body weight decreased significantly for CO (mean -5.7 +/- 9.3 kg) and AO (mean -3.3 +/- 6.2 kg), but fat-free mass (FFM) was unchanged. When comparing pre to post data, mean total calorie need increased by 2.9 percent for CO and 3.1 percent for AO (P greater than 0.05), RMR decreased 3.6 percent for CO and 2.8 percent for AO (P less than 0.05), and TEF increased 11 percent for CO and 50 percent for AO (P less than 0.05). Time spent in light and moderate level activity increased significantly from pre to post. The increase in activity and TEF more than compensated for the slight decrease in RMR (mean -55 kcal/day), contributing to an overall increase in daily energy need (mean = 74 kcal/day) at the end of the program, even for the six women who lost greater than 5 kg body weight.
Moore
J M
JM
Department of Nutrition and Food Management, Oregon State University, Corvallis 97331.
Oddou
W E
WE
Leklem
J E
JE
D000328:Adult; D001481:Basal Metabolism; D001823:Body Composition; D001835:Body Weight; D002149:Energy Intake; D004734:Energy Metabolism; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D052756:Nutritional Sciences / Q000193:education*; D009765:Obesity / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000628:therapy; D016138:Walking; D015431:Weight Loss / Q000502:physiology