title: Resting energy expenditure (REE) in an old-old population: implications for metabolic stress.
abstract: The basis of nutritional therapy and thus an adequate nutrient intake is the assessment of energy need. On the other end, the assessment of individual energy requirements based on the gold standard, indirect calorimetry, is associated with feasibility difficulties in geriatric settings. To identify the most accurate predictive equations for resting energy expenditure (REE) in older subjects with overweight, 17 predictive equations were compared to indirect calorimetry measurement in a study population of 20 obese older subjects (mean BMI 33.7±4.5kg/m(2); mean age 79.8±8.1 years; gender 5 males and 15 females) and 20 age-matched controls with a normal body weight (mean BMI 24.9±2.5 kg/m(2); mean age 82.1±6.6 years; gender 9 males and 11 females). The comparison led to two significant observations: the predictive equations used led to a much better estimation of the REE in the control group than in the obese older subjects. In addition, the most accurate equation for estimating the REE in the obese older subjects has been shown to be that by Lührmann et al. Further studies are needed to assess the feasibility of using this equation in a routine geriatric setting.
authors.affiliation: University of Cologne, Medical Faculty, Geriatrics Department, Cologne, Germany. Electronic address: mnoreik@uni-koeln.de.
authors.forename: Michaela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Noreik
authors.affiliation: University of Cologne, Medical Faculty, Geriatrics Department, Cologne, Germany.
authors.forename: Mareike
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Maurmann
authors.affiliation: University of Cologne, Medical Faculty, Geriatrics Department, Cologne, Germany.
authors.forename: Veronika
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Meier
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical Statistics, Informatics and Epidemiology, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
authors.forename: Ingrid
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Becker
authors.affiliation: University of Cologne, Medical Faculty, Geriatrics Department, Cologne, Germany.
authors.forename: Gabriele
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Röhrig
authors.affiliation: University of Cologne, Medical Faculty, Geriatrics Department, Cologne, Germany.
authors.forename: Maria Cristina
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Polidori
authors.affiliation: University of Cologne, Medical Faculty, Geriatrics Department, Cologne, Germany.
authors.forename: Ralf-Joachim
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Schulz
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002153:Calorimetry, Indirect / Q000379:methods; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004734:Energy Metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000503:physiopathology; D050177:Overweight / Q000503:physiopathology*; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: Aged; Indirect calorimetry; Obesity; Overweight; Resting energy expenditure