A New Hand‐Held Indirect Calorimeter to Measure Postprandial Energy Expenditure

Abstract

ST-ONGE, MARIE-PIERRE, FREDERICK RUBIANO, ALFREDO JONES, JR., AND STEVEN B. HEYMSFIELD.A new hand-held indirect calorimeter to measure postprandial energy expenditure. Obes Res. 2004;12: 704 -709. Objective: To verify the accuracy of a new hand-held metabolic rate measuring device (MedGem) in quantifying postprandial energy expenditure (PP EE). MedGem measurements were compared to measurements obtained with a conventional indirect calorimeter (Delta-Trac). Research Methods and Procedures:The resting metabolic rate of 15 healthy subjects was measured for 20 minutes using Delta-Trac followed by a 10-minute measurement period using MedGem. EE was again measured for 7 hours after consumption of a 2510-kJ breakfast. Measurements were read from the Delta-Trac for the initial 50 minutes of each hour followed by a single reading from the MedGem after 5 to 10 minutes of measurement. Measured EE was calculated as the average of the total measurement period for Delta-Trac and for eight readings using MedGem; PP EE was calculated as the average of all measurements obtained after breakfast consumption. Results: There was no difference in resting metabolic rate between the two methods (6455.1 Ϯ 417.6 vs. 6468.5 Ϯ 337.2 kJ/d for Delta-Trac and MedGem, respectively). Measured EE and PP EE values with Delta-Trac (7019.1 Ϯ 400.8 and 7099.8 Ϯ 399.2 kJ/d, respectively) and MedGem (6775.6 Ϯ 372.0 and 6819.5 Ϯ 379.9 kJ/d, respectively) were not significantly different. There was no bias detected in any of the measurements made with MedGem compared with those of Delta-Trac. Discussion: The new hand-held EE measuring device can accurately track PP EE relative to a conventional indirect calorimetry system and, therefore, provides a new opportunity to assess PP EE in research settings and large-scale trials.

Comparison between Medgem and Deltatrac resting metabolic rate measurements

“…Metabolic carts, such as the Deltatrac, have been shown to be reliable instruments for measuring RMR (Takala et al, 1989;Weissman et al, 1990;Tissot et al, 1995). Despite the advantages of the Deltatrac, there are factors that deter its use (Nieman et al, 2003;St-Onge et al, 2003).…”

“…Traditional calorimeters have been described as costly and cumbersome, require skilled operators, possible off-site equipment repairs and calibration difficulties (Nieman et al, 2003;St-Onge et al, 2003). For these reasons, an inexpensive, easy-to-use, portable, and accurate device for measuring RMR in the clinical setting is desirable.…”

“…For these reasons, an inexpensive, easy-to-use, portable, and accurate device for measuring RMR in the clinical setting is desirable. The Medgem (MG) is a handheld device that measures VO 2 to estimate RMR (Nieman et al, 2003;St-Onge et al, 2003).…”

Basal metabolic rate of Brazilians living in the Southwestern United States

“…The current suggested set of equations (FAO, 2004) was derived from a revision of compiled data performed by Schofield (1985) from studies mainly conducted in the first half of the 20th century in samples that were not representative of any specific population. Initially in the tropics (geographic region of the Earth centered on the equator and limited by the Tropic of Cancer in the north and the Tropic of Capricorn in the South and characterized climatically by a dry and a wet season), and more recently in temperate regions (latitudes of the globe that lie between the tropics and the polar circles and characterized by four distinct seasons) (Henry and Rees, 1991;Alfonso-González et al, 2004;St-Onge et al, 2004), prediction equations have been shown to overestimate BMR (Wahrlich and Anjos, 2001a). The possible climatic influence on BMR was raised by Almeida (1919Almeida ( , 1920 who measured BMR in 20 Brazilians living in Rio de Janeiro (Tropics) and showed the values to be 20% lower than North-American men.…”

Do Hand-Held Calorimeters Provide Reliable and Accurate Estimates of Resting Metabolic Rate?

“…In 2004 St-Onge and co-workers [11] evaluated the validity of the MG to measure the increase in energy expenditure associated with the consumption of a meal (postprandial energy expenditure; PP-EE). The study was set up to test RMR in 15 healthy adult subjects with a 20 minute measurement made using the DeltaTrac metabolic cart followed by 10 minute measurements using the MG. EE was measured for 7 hours following a meal which consisted of Ϸ600 kcal (2510 kJ) breakfast foods.…”