Metabolic And Mechanical Cost Of Sedentary And Physical Activities In Obese Children And Adolescents

Obesity often results from an imbalance between energy intake and energy expenditure. Daily energy intake can be determined both quantitatively and qualitatively. By contrast, estimation of daily energy expenditure in free-living conditions requires qualified personnel and sophisticated technical methods. Daily energy expenditure (EE) can be distributed between a number of interdependent factors including: basal metabolic rate (BMR) extrapolated to a 24-hour period; EE associated with alimentation (thermic effect of food, TEF); growth (in children); healing; thermoregulation (but in developed countries the effects of cold are minimized by adjustment of clothing, housing and heating, (1); and physical activity. In addition, for practical purposes the increase in EE associated with physical activities must be partitioned between sedentary behaviour and actual physical activities (Fig. 1).