Assessment of low-to-moderate intensity physical activity thermogenesis in young adults using synchronized heart rate and accelerometry with branched-equation modeling
Open accessAbstract
Low-to-moderate intensity physical activity thermogenesis is a highly variable and quantitatively important component of total energy expenditure that is difficult to assess outside the laboratory. Greater precision and accuracy in the measurement of this key contributor to energy balance is a research priority. We developed a laboratory-based protocol that simulated a range of low-to-moderate intensity physical activities. We characterized the bias and random (individual) error in estimating energy expenditure using combined accelerometry and heart rate (AHR) with branched-equation modeling and a simple motion sensor (pedometer) against an indirect calorimetry criterion. Twenty young adult subjects performed a 2-h laboratory-based protocol, simulating 6 low-to-moderate intensity physical activities interspersed with periods of rest. The physical activity level during the laboratory-based protocol reflected an energy expenditure toward the lower end of the active category. We found that AHR-derived energy expenditure showed no evidence of substantial fixed or proportional bias (mean bias 6%), whereas pedometer-derived energy expenditure showed both fixed and proportional bias (bias at minimum, mean, and maximum energy expenditure +11, -20, and -36%, respectively). It appears that AHR provides an accurate estimate of criterion energy expenditure whereas a simple motion sensor (pedometer) does not. It is noteworthy that AHR provides quantitative information about the nature and patterns of physical activity, such as the amount of time and/or energy spent engaged in physical activity above critical health-related thresholds.
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The physical activity measurement method was validated against gold-standard measures of energy expenditure in laboratory and free-living conditions.
“This method has been validated against gold-standard measures of energy expenditure in laboratory and free-living conditions [22–24].”
From Resting heart rate is a population-level biomarker of cardiorespiratory fitness: The Fenland Study (2023) · cites this paper as [23]
The Method comparisons section validates the heart-rate and accelerometry method against indirect calorimetry in a laboratory protocol. The Discussion describes the 24-hour, away-from-laboratory comparison as preliminary and compares its estimates with the Compendium of Physical Activities, not a gold-standard measure of energy expenditure. The cited paper therefore does not establish the claimed free-living validation against a gold standard. (LLM, conf=0.89)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe COSMED K4b2 portable metabolic system has been shown to be reliable and valid for measuring energy expenditure.
“This device has been shown to be both reliable and valid [30,31], and has also been used previously to determine criterion energy expenditure [28,32–34].”
From Assessment of laboratory and daily energy expenditure estimates from consumer multi-sensor physical activity monitors (2017) · cites this paper as [32]
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- Authors
- Thompson, D., Batterham, A. M., Bock, S., Robson, C., & Stokes, K.
- Affiliations
- University of Bath (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Thompson, Dylan
- Venue
- The Journal of Nutrition
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2006-04
- Volume
- 136
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 1037-1042
- ISSN
- 0022-3166 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2101195842
- Semantic Scholar
- 6195accc5f0e50eecf5dc599ae0f4086f9e8872b
- Cited by
- 129
- References
- 31
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 10 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 4 · 2016: 16 · 2015: 9 · 2014: 9 · 2013: 8 · 2012: 11
- FWCI
- 3.76
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Journal of Nutrition (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- TeesRep (Teesside University) (publishedVersion)
- Teesside University Research Portal (Teesside University) (publishedVersion)
- Durham Research Online (Durham University) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- Wellcome Trust (VS04BTHAA17OAAMFH)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Physical Activity and Health
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition › Context-Aware Activity Recognition Systems
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Complementary and alternative medicine › Cardiovascular and exercise physiology
- Keywords
- energy expenditure estimation, heart rate, accelerometry, pedometers, measurement bias, measurement error, indirect calorimetry, young adults, energy balance
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Energy Metabolism, Female, Heart Rate, Humans, Male, Mathematics, Models, Biological, Exercise, Bias, Thermogenesis
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