title: Energy need for weight maintenance in human beings: effect of body size and composition.
abstract: We estimated energy requirement by determining the amount of food needed to maintain body weight in a controlled environment. In a study of 28 adolescents and adults of widely varying weight and body fat content, we found that the energy required for weight maintenance was directly proportional to body weight (r = 0.92). The increased energy requirement of the obese is due in part to their larger lean weight and in part to their greater burden of body fat; together these account for 87% of the variance. For these subjects, who were engaged in light physical activity, the ratio of total energy to basal metabolic rate was 1.52 +/- 0.16 (SD).
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics and Biophysics, School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Rochester, New York 14642.
authors.forename: G B
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Forbes
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Brown
mesh_terms: D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000378:metabolism; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001481:Basal Metabolism; D001823:Body Composition; D001835:Body Weight; D002151:Calorimetry; D003404:Creatinine / Q000652:urine; D002149:Energy Intake; D004734:Energy Metabolism; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D005526:Food, Formulated; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged
chemical_list: D003404:Creatinine