CoChat
Sign Up
Cited by 138Obesity, Physical Activity, DietPhysical Activity and HealthNutrition and Health Studies

Energy expenditure in adults living in developing compared with industrialized countries: a meta-analysis of doubly labeled water studies

Open access
Dugas, Lara R, Harders, Regina, Merrill, Sarah, Ebersole, Kara, Shoham, David A, Rush, Elaine C, Assah, Felix K, Forrester, Terrence +2 more·2011·The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
DOI 10.3945/ajcn.110.007278PMC PMC3021434
Open this paper in CoChat — free accountOpen PDF

Abstract

Background There is an assumption that people in developing countries have a higher total energy expenditure (TEE) and physical activity level (PAL) than do people in developed nations, but few objective data for this assertion exist.Objective We conducted a meta-analysis of TEE and PAL by using data from countries that have a low or middle human development index (HDI) compared with those with a high HDI to better understand how energy-expenditure variables are associated with development status and population differences in body size.Design We performed a literature search for studies in which energy expenditure was measured by using doubly labeled water. Mean data on age, weight, body mass index (BMI; in kg/m(2)), TEE, and PAL were extracted, and HDI status was assessed. Pooled estimates of the mean effect by sex were obtained, and the extent to which age, weight, HDI status, and year of publication explained heterogeneity was assessed.Results A total of 98 studies (14 studies from low- or middle-HDI countries) that represented 183 cohorts and 4972 individuals were included. Mean (±SE) BMI was lower in countries with a low or middle HDI than in those with a high HDI for both men and women (22.7 ± 1.0 compared with 26.0 ± 0.7, respectively, in men and 24.3 ± 0.7 compared with 26.6 ± 0.4, respectively, in women). In meta-regression models, there was an inverse association of age (P < 0.001) and a positive association of weight (P < 0.001) with TEE for both sexes; there was an association of age only in men with PAL (P < 0.001). There was no association of HDI status with either TEE or PAL.Conclusion TEE adjusted for weight and age or PAL did not differ significantly between developing and industrialized countries, which calls into question the role of energy expenditure in the cause of obesity at the population level.

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.3945/ajcn.110.007278

Cites

133 of 133 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Claims the paper makes

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • Cross-cultural data on TDEE and PAL also shows no statistically significant difference by low or high development (based on Human Development Index).

    “Cross-cultural data on TDEE and PAL (used in Figure 6) also shows no statistically significant difference by low or high development (based on Human Development Index) [40].”

    From Physical Activity and Modernization among Bolivian Amerindians (2013) · cites this paper as [40]

  • The similarity in TEE among Hadza hunter-gatherers and Westerners suggests that even dramatic differences in lifestyle may have a negligible effect on TEE.

    “The similarity in TEE among Hadza hunter-gatherers and Westerners suggests that even dramatic differences in lifestyle may have a negligible effect on TEE, and is consistent with the view [4]–[7], [16] that differences in obesity prevalence between populations result primarily from differences in energy intake rather than expenditure.”

    From Hunter-gatherer energetics and human obesity (2012) · cites this paper as [16]

  • Differences in obesity prevalence between populations result primarily from differences in energy intake rather than expenditure.

    “The similarity in TEE among Hadza hunter-gatherers and Westerners suggests that even dramatic differences in lifestyle may have a negligible effect on TEE, and is consistent with the view [4]–[7], [16] that differences in obesity prevalence between populations result primarily from differences in energy intake rather than expenditure.”

    From Hunter-gatherer energetics and human obesity (2012) · cites this paper as [16]

  • A recent meta-analysis of 98 diverse populations worldwide found no effect of socioeconomic development on daily energy expenditure or activity level.

    “Similarly, while high activity levels have been reported in some subsistence farming populations [13]–[15], a recent meta-analysis of 98 diverse populations worldwide found no effect of socioeconomic development – a rough index of mechanization and diet – on daily energy expenditure or activity level [16].”

    From Hunter-gatherer energetics and human obesity (2012) · cites this paper as [16]

  • Doubly labeled water studies before this one were limited in sample size (n<600), geographic and socioeconomic coverage, and/or age range.

    “but doubly labeled water studies to date have been limited in sample size (n < 600), geographic and socioeconomic representation, and/or age (6–9).”

    From Daily energy expenditure through the human life course (2021) · cites this paper as [7]

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The self-check needs the paper’s full text.

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. Faello ME. Comparison of energy expenditure by doubly-labeled water to energy intake by four 1-day food records and three 24-hour diet recalls. Master's thesis. California State University, Long Beach, CA, 2000.
  2. Platte P, Pirke KM, Wade SE, Trimborn P, Fichter MM. Physical activity, total energy expenditure, and food intake in grossly obese and normal weight women. Int J Eat Disord 1995;17:51-7.

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Related

Authors
Dugas, L. R., Harders, R., Merrill, S., Ebersole, K., Shoham, D. A., Rush, E. C., Assah, F. K., Forrester, T., Durazo-Arvizu, R. A., & Luke, A.
Affiliations
Loyola University Chicago (US)
Corresponding author
Dugas, Lara R
ORCID
Venue
The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2011-02
Volume
93
Issue
2
Pages
427-441
ISSN
0002-9165 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.3945/ajcn.110.007278
PMC
PMC3021434
OpenAlex
W1964146644
Cited by
138
References
133
Citations by year
2026: 4 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 12 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 14 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 13 · 2015: 11 · 2014: 8 · 2013: 12 · 2012: 9
FWCI
1.15
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institutes of Health
  • National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (DK56781, R01DK056781)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Physical Activity and Health
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Nutrition and Health Studies
Keywords
total energy expenditure, physical activity level, Human Development Index, developing countries, developed countries, body mass index, obesity, age and weight effects, sex differences
MeSH terms
Adult, Age Factors, Body Water, Body Weight, Developing Countries, Energy Metabolism, Female, Humans, Male, Motor Activity, Obesity, Sex Factors, Water, Exercise, Body Mass Index, Incidence, Developed Countries

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review