Body size and human energy requirements: Reduced mass‐specific total energy expenditure in tall adults

Abstract

Mammalian resting energy expenditure (REE) increases as approximately weight(0.75) while mass-specific REE scales as approximately weight(-0.25). Energy needs for replacing resting losses are thus less relative to weight (W) in large compared with small mammals, a classic observation with biological implications. Human weight scales as approximately height(2) and tall adults thus have a greater weight than their short counterparts. However, it remains unknown if mass-specific energy requirements are less in tall adults; allometric models linking total energy expenditure (TEE) and weight with height (H) are lacking. We tested the hypothesis that mass-specific energy requirements scale inversely to height in adults by evaluating TEE (doubly labeled water) data collected by the National Academy of Sciences. Activity energy expenditure (AEE) was calculated from TEE, REE (indirect calorimetry), and estimated diet-induced energy expenditure. Main analyses focused on nonmorbidly obese subjects < or =50 yrs of age with non-negative AEE values (n = 404), although results were directionally similar for all samples. Allometric models, including age as a covariate, revealed significantly (P < 0.05) greater REE, AEE, and TEE as a function of height (range H(1.5-1.7)) in both men and women. TEE/W scaled negatively to height ( approximately H(-0.7), P < 0.01) with predicted mass-specific TEE (kcal/kg/d) at +/-2 SD for US height lower in tall compared with short men (40.3 vs. 46.5) and women (37.7 vs. 42.7). REE/W also scaled negatively to height in men (P < 0.001) and women (P < 0.01). Results were generally robust across several different analytic strategies. These observations reveal previously unforeseen associations between human stature and energy requirements that have implications for modeling efforts and provide new links to mammalian biology as a whole.

The mediation effect of anthropometry and physical fitness on the relationship between birthweight and basal metabolic rate in children

“…In Jamaican 7-8-year-old children, it was shown that a short-stature group had a reduced BMR when compared to a normal-stature group 35 . A hypothesis reported by Heymsfield, Chirachariyavej 12 indicates that relative to body weight and height, individuals differ in their proportions of heat-producing tissues, such as skeletal muscle and brain mass, an important determinant for BMR 12,36 .…”

Scaling of adult human bone and skeletal muscle mass to height in the US population

“…A main motivation for the current study was to further our quantitative understanding of the mechanisms underlying energy expenditure scaling relations in humans, with implications for scaling relationships in mammals as a whole (Heymsfield, ; Heymsfield, Thomas, et al, ). Large animals and humans, characterized by body mass and height, respectively, have lower mass‐specific resting metabolic rates compared to their small counterparts (Heymsfield & Pietrobelli, ). One explanation for body size‐related variation in mass‐specific metabolic rate is variation in organ proportions with a shift in body composition with greater height to low metabolic rate components (ie, to a larger proportion of body weight as bone and SM bone [<~15 kcal/kg/d] and to a smaller proportion of brain, liver, and kidney [>200 kcal/kg/d]) (Heymsfield, Peterson, et al, ).…”

Weight‐HbA1c‐insulin‐glucose model for describing disease progression of type 2 diabetes

“…The daily rate of energy expenditure is proportional to body weight, thus, subjects’ diets were personalized based on their body weights. In the current study design, weight change from energy flux imbalance was achieved from a combination of diet (restricted energy intake) and exercise (increased energy expenditure), together known as diet and exercise (D&E).…”