Total daily energy expenditure has declined over the past three decades due to declining basal expenditure, not reduced activity expenditure

John R Speakman; Jasper M A de Jong; Srishti Sinha; Klaas R Westerterp; Yosuke Yamada; Hiroyuki Sagayama; Philip N Ainslie; Liam J Anderson; Lenore Arab; Kweku Bedu-Addo; Stephane Blanc; Alberto G Bonomi; Pascal Bovet; Soren Brage; Maciej S Buchowski; Nancy F Butte; Stefan G J A Camps; Jamie A Cooper; Richard Cooper; Sai Krupa Das; Peter S W Davies; Lara R Dugas; Ulf Ekelund; Sonja Entringer; Terrence Forrester; Barry W Fudge; Melanie Gillingham; Santu Ghosh; Annelies H Goris; Michael Gurven; Lewis G Halsey; Catherine Hambly; Hinke H Haisma; Daniel Hoffman; Sumei Hu; Annemiek M Joosen; Jennifer L Kaplan; Peter Katzmarzyk; William E Kraus; Robert F Kushner; William R Leonard; Marie Löf; Corby K Martin; Eric Matsiko; Anine C Medin; Erwin P Meijer; Marian L Neuhouser; Theresa A Nicklas; Robert M Ojiambo; Kirsi H Pietiläinen; Jacob Plange-Rhule; Guy Plasqui; Ross L Prentice; Susan B Racette; David A Raichlen; Eric Ravussin; Leanne M Redman; Susan B Roberts; Michael C Rudolph; Luis B Sardinha; Albertine J Schuit; Analiza M Silva; Eric Stice; Samuel S Urlacher; Giulio Valenti; Ludo M Van Etten; Edgar A Van Mil; Brian M Wood; Jack A Yanovski; Tsukasa Yoshida; Xueying Zhang; Alexia J Murphy-Alford; Cornelia U Loechl; Anura Kurpad; Amy H Luke; Herman Pontzer; Matthew S Rodeheffer; Jennifer Rood; Dale A Schoeller; William W Wong

doi:10.1038/s42255-023-00782-2

Total daily energy expenditure has declined over the past three decades due to declining basal expenditure, not reduced activity expenditure

John R Speakman^* (Corresponding Author)
, Jasper M A de Jong
, Srishti Sinha
, Klaas R Westerterp^* (Corresponding Author)
, Yosuke Yamada^* (Corresponding Author)
, Hiroyuki Sagayama^* (Corresponding Author)
, Philip N Ainslie
, Liam J Anderson
, Lenore Arab
, Kweku Bedu-Addo
, Stephane Blanc
, Alberto G Bonomi
, Pascal Bovet
, Soren Brage
, Maciej S Buchowski
, Nancy F Butte
, Stefan G J A Camps
, Jamie A Cooper
, Richard Cooper
, Sai Krupa Das

Peter S W Davies, Lara R Dugas, Ulf Ekelund, Sonja Entringer, Terrence Forrester, Barry W Fudge, Melanie Gillingham, Santu Ghosh, Annelies H Goris, Michael Gurven, Lewis G Halsey, Catherine Hambly, Hinke H Haisma, Daniel Hoffman, Sumei Hu, Annemiek M Joosen, Jennifer L Kaplan, Peter Katzmarzyk, William E Kraus, Robert F Kushner, William R Leonard, Marie Löf, Corby K Martin, Eric Matsiko, Anine C Medin, Erwin P Meijer, Marian L Neuhouser, Theresa A Nicklas, Robert M Ojiambo, Kirsi H Pietiläinen, Jacob Plange-Rhule, Guy Plasqui, Ross L Prentice, Susan B Racette, David A Raichlen, Eric Ravussin, Leanne M Redman, Susan B Roberts, Michael C Rudolph, Luis B Sardinha, Albertine J Schuit, Analiza M Silva, Eric Stice, Samuel S Urlacher, Giulio Valenti, Ludo M Van Etten, Edgar A Van Mil, Brian M Wood, Jack A Yanovski, Tsukasa Yoshida, Xueying Zhang, Alexia J Murphy-Alford, Cornelia U Loechl, Anura Kurpad, Amy H Luke, Herman Pontzer, Matthew S Rodeheffer, Jennifer Rood, Dale A Schoeller, William W Wong^* (Corresponding Author)

^*Corresponding author for this work

Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
Yale University
St Johns Medical college
Maastricht University Medical Center
National Institute of Health and Nutrition Tokyo
Tsukuba University of Technology
Liverpool John Moores University
University of Birmingham
California Lutheran University
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology
University of Wisconsin-La Crosse
Philips Research
Lausanne University Hospital
University of Cambridge
Vanderbilt University
Baylor College of Medicine
Loyola University Chicago
Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging, Tufts University
University of Queensland
Norwegian School of Sport Sciences
Columbia University
University of the West Indies St. Augustine
University of Glasgow
Oregon Health and Science University
IMEC within OnePlanet Research Center
University of California at Santa Barbara
Roehampton University
University Medical Center Groningen
Rutgers University
LSU Pennington Biomedical Research Center
Duke University
Northwestern University
Karolinska Institutet
University of Rwanda
University of Agder
University of Washington
Moi University
Helsinki University Central Hospital
Southern California University of Health Sciences
Oklahoma University Health Sciences
Exercise and Health Laboratory
Tilburg University
Stanford University
Baylor University
California State University Los Angeles
National Institutes of Health
International Atomic Energy Agency
Aberystwyth University

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Abstract

Obesity is caused by a prolonged positive energy balance1,2. Whether reduced energy expenditure stemming from reduced activity levels contributes is debated3,4. Here we show that in both sexes, total energy expenditure (TEE) adjusted for body composition and age declined since the late 1980s, while adjusted activity energy expenditure increased over time. We use the International Atomic Energy Agency Doubly Labelled Water database on energy expenditure of adults in the United States and Europe (n = 4,799) to explore patterns in total (TEE: n = 4,799), basal (BEE: n = 1,432) and physical activity energy expenditure (n = 1,432) over time. In males, adjusted BEE decreased significantly, but in females this did not reach significance. A larger dataset of basal metabolic rate (equivalent to BEE) measurements of 9,912 adults across 163 studies spanning 100 years replicates the decline in BEE in both sexes. We conclude that increasing obesity in the United States/Europe has probably not been fuelled by reduced physical activity leading to lowered TEE. We identify here a decline in adjusted BEE as a previously unrecognized factor.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	579-588
Number of pages	2
Journal	Nature Metabolism
Volume	5
Issue number	4
Early online date	26 Apr 2023
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s42255-023-00782-2
Publication status	Published - 26 Apr 2023

Bibliographical note

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being

Keywords

Endocrine system and metabolic diseases
Metabolism

Access to Document

10.1038/s42255-023-00782-2Licence: Unspecified

Speakman_etal_NM_Total_Daily_Energy_AAMAccepted author manuscript, 539 KBLicence: Unspecified

Cite this

Speakman, J. R., de Jong, J. M. A., Sinha, S., Westerterp, K. R., Yamada, Y., Sagayama, H., Ainslie, P. N., Anderson, L. J., Arab, L., Bedu-Addo, K., Blanc, S., Bonomi, A. G., Bovet, P., Brage, S., Buchowski, M. S., Butte, N. F., Camps, S. G. J. A., Cooper, J. A., Cooper, R., ... Wong, W. W. (2023). Total daily energy expenditure has declined over the past three decades due to declining basal expenditure, not reduced activity expenditure. Nature Metabolism, 5(4), 579-588. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42255-023-00782-2

Speakman, JR, de Jong, JMA, Sinha, S, Westerterp, KR, Yamada, Y, Sagayama, H, Ainslie, PN, Anderson, LJ, Arab, L, Bedu-Addo, K, Blanc, S, Bonomi, AG, Bovet, P, Brage, S, Buchowski, MS, Butte, NF, Camps, SGJA, Cooper, JA, Cooper, R, Das, SK, Davies, PSW, Dugas, LR, Ekelund, U, Entringer, S, Forrester, T, Fudge, BW, Gillingham, M, Ghosh, S, Goris, AH, Gurven, M, Halsey, LG, Hambly, C, Haisma, HH, Hoffman, D, Hu, S, Joosen, AM, Kaplan, JL, Katzmarzyk, P, Kraus, WE, Kushner, RF, Leonard, WR, Löf, M, Martin, CK, Matsiko, E, Medin, AC, Meijer, EP, Neuhouser, ML, Nicklas, TA, Ojiambo, RM, Pietiläinen, KH, Plange-Rhule, J, Plasqui, G, Prentice, RL, Racette, SB, Raichlen, DA, Ravussin, E, Redman, LM, Roberts, SB, Rudolph, MC, Sardinha, LB, Schuit, AJ, Silva, AM, Stice, E, Urlacher, SS, Valenti, G, Van Etten, LM, Van Mil, EA, Wood, BM, Yanovski, JA, Yoshida, T, Zhang, X, Murphy-Alford, AJ, Loechl, CU, Kurpad, A, Luke, AH, Pontzer, H, Rodeheffer, MS, Rood, J, Schoeller, DA & Wong, WW 2023, 'Total daily energy expenditure has declined over the past three decades due to declining basal expenditure, not reduced activity expenditure', Nature Metabolism, vol. 5, no. 4, pp. 579-588. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42255-023-00782-2

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abstract = "Obesity is caused by a prolonged positive energy balance1,2. Whether reduced energy expenditure stemming from reduced activity levels contributes is debated3,4. Here we show that in both sexes, total energy expenditure (TEE) adjusted for body composition and age declined since the late 1980s, while adjusted activity energy expenditure increased over time. We use the International Atomic Energy Agency Doubly Labelled Water database on energy expenditure of adults in the United States and Europe (n = 4,799) to explore patterns in total (TEE: n = 4,799), basal (BEE: n = 1,432) and physical activity energy expenditure (n = 1,432) over time. In males, adjusted BEE decreased significantly, but in females this did not reach significance. A larger dataset of basal metabolic rate (equivalent to BEE) measurements of 9,912 adults across 163 studies spanning 100 years replicates the decline in BEE in both sexes. We conclude that increasing obesity in the United States/Europe has probably not been fuelled by reduced physical activity leading to lowered TEE. We identify here a decline in adjusted BEE as a previously unrecognized factor.",

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AU - de Jong, Jasper M A

AU - Sinha, Srishti

AU - Westerterp, Klaas R

AU - Yamada, Yosuke

AU - Sagayama, Hiroyuki

AU - Ainslie, Philip N

AU - Anderson, Liam J

AU - Arab, Lenore

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AU - Ekelund, Ulf

AU - Entringer, Sonja

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AU - Fudge, Barry W

AU - Gillingham, Melanie

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AU - Haisma, Hinke H

AU - Hoffman, Daniel

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AU - Kaplan, Jennifer L

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AU - Martin, Corby K

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AU - Medin, Anine C

AU - Meijer, Erwin P

AU - Neuhouser, Marian L

AU - Nicklas, Theresa A

AU - Ojiambo, Robert M

AU - Pietiläinen, Kirsi H

AU - Plange-Rhule, Jacob

AU - Plasqui, Guy

AU - Prentice, Ross L

AU - Racette, Susan B

AU - Raichlen, David A

AU - Ravussin, Eric

AU - Redman, Leanne M

AU - Roberts, Susan B

AU - Rudolph, Michael C

AU - Sardinha, Luis B

AU - Schuit, Albertine J

AU - Silva, Analiza M

AU - Stice, Eric

AU - Urlacher, Samuel S

AU - Valenti, Giulio

AU - Van Etten, Ludo M

AU - Van Mil, Edgar A

AU - Wood, Brian M

AU - Yanovski, Jack A

AU - Yoshida, Tsukasa

AU - Zhang, Xueying

AU - Murphy-Alford, Alexia J

AU - Loechl, Cornelia U

AU - Kurpad, Anura

AU - Luke, Amy H

AU - Pontzer, Herman

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AB - Obesity is caused by a prolonged positive energy balance1,2. Whether reduced energy expenditure stemming from reduced activity levels contributes is debated3,4. Here we show that in both sexes, total energy expenditure (TEE) adjusted for body composition and age declined since the late 1980s, while adjusted activity energy expenditure increased over time. We use the International Atomic Energy Agency Doubly Labelled Water database on energy expenditure of adults in the United States and Europe (n = 4,799) to explore patterns in total (TEE: n = 4,799), basal (BEE: n = 1,432) and physical activity energy expenditure (n = 1,432) over time. In males, adjusted BEE decreased significantly, but in females this did not reach significance. A larger dataset of basal metabolic rate (equivalent to BEE) measurements of 9,912 adults across 163 studies spanning 100 years replicates the decline in BEE in both sexes. We conclude that increasing obesity in the United States/Europe has probably not been fuelled by reduced physical activity leading to lowered TEE. We identify here a decline in adjusted BEE as a previously unrecognized factor.

KW - Endocrine system and metabolic diseases

KW - Metabolism

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DO - 10.1038/s42255-023-00782-2

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SP - 579

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JO - Nature Metabolism

JF - Nature Metabolism

IS - 4

ER -

Total daily energy expenditure has declined over the past three decades due to declining basal expenditure, not reduced activity expenditure

Abstract

Bibliographical note

UN SDGs

Keywords

Access to Document

Fingerprint

Cite this