Abstract

Background: The energy requirement of an individual can be defined as the level of energy intake from food that will balance the energy expenditure. Dietary intakes lower or higher than the body requirements can lead to undernutrition (deficiency diseases) or overnutrition (diseases of affluence), respectively. Per day calorie intake influences various daily energy utilizing activities. The imbalance between intake and expenditure continues over long periods, changes in body weight or body composition will occur and may adversely affect health. The resting energy expenditure (REE), the largest portion (50–75%) of total energy expenditure, is the energy required to maintain the basic metabolic activities including maintaining the body temperature and keeping the functioning of vital organs such as brain, kidneys, heart, and lungs. Hence, REE plays the most important role in body functioning.

Objective: The aim and objective of the present study were to access the effect of per day calorie intake on REE.

Materials and Methods: One hundred subjects (age 18–25 years) were assessed for data collection. All the data were collected in the early morning hours. The study was approved by the Institutional Ethical Committee (EC/P-47/2018) of Rajasthan University of Health Sciences College of Medical Sciences, Jaipur. Demographic data including the anthropometric measurement of the participants such as weight, height, and body mass index (BMI). Calories intake (kcal) in 24 h was measured using food frequency questionnaire. Moreover, REE was measured using the gold standard method indirect calorimetry. Pearson correlation was calculated to seen correlation between per day calorie intake and REE.

Results: A total of 75 males and 25 females with mean age of males and females were 19.97 ± 1.81 years and 19.32 ± 1.75 years, respectively. The mean BMI was 21.77 ± 4 kg/m² of males and 22.68 kg/m² of females. The mean calorie intake was 2532.082 ± 830.970 kcal in males and 1991.176 ± 783.291 kcal in females. The mean REE of male subjects was 2081.470 ± 587.661 kcal and of females was 1827.895 ± 469.671 kcal. The present study results showed the positive poor correlation (r = +0.1572) between calorie intake and REE in male subjects and negative poor correlation (r = −0.1484) in female subjects.

Conclusion: The present study results concluded that there was a poor association between per day calorie intake and REE. Moreover, on the basis of the present study results, we can also say that most of our energy intake was expended to maintain body functioning at rest.

Key words: Resting Energy Expenditure; Total Energy Expenditure; Indirect Calorimetry; Food Frequency Questionnaire; Body Mass Index