Total daily energy expenditure and activity level in anorexia nervosa

Article Abstract:

In most cases, prolonged periods of not eating enough food with weight loss result in muscle weakness, fatigue and reduced activity. However, patients with anorexia nervosa maintain high levels of activity, even though they do not eat enough food to maintain their body weight. It has been suggested that over-activity may be a clinical feature of this condition. To determine the relationship between anorexia nervosa and physical activity level, total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) and basal metabolic rate (BMR) were measured in six females with anorexia nervosa who weighed an average of 67 percent of their ideal body weight. BMR is the amount of energy expended to fuel basic body processes while at rest. Six healthy females with normal body weight were studied for comparison. The subjects with anorexia had lower blood levels of thyroid hormone and had lower BMR than those who did not have anorexia. The BMR was related to body weight in both groups. The patients with anorexia had lower body weight, less body fat and a greater percentage of fat-free mass. The TDEE was the same in those with anorexia as in the normal subjects. However, the patients with anorexia had higher levels of physical activity and used more of their daily energy intake for physical activity than the normal subjects. The results of this study indicate that patients with anorexia nervosa are more physically active than normal subjects, even though they are underweight and have lower basal metabolic rates. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Evaluation, Measurement, Anorexia nervosa, Energy metabolism, Basal metabolism

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Body composition of children recovering from severe protein-energy malnutrition at two rates of catch-up growth

Article Abstract:

There has been some controversy over the best method of treating children with severe protein-energy malnutrition. The goal for their recovery is not simply weight gain, but attainment of the reference (desirable) body composition with proper proportions of fat and lean tissue. One issue is whether weight should be gained at a moderate or a rapid rate. Some studies have suggested that rapid weight gain leads to a disproportionate amount of fat deposition and too little muscle (lean) tissue, accumulation. Twenty-six children from Peru with severe protein-energy malnutrition were divided into two groups. One group was fed a diet supporting moderate weight gain, while the other was fed a diet to induce rapid weight gain. Both groups attained the reference body composition which was measured by total body water composition. The composition of the weight gained was also estimated; these results supported the assertion that rapid weight gain restores reference body composition. The advantage of rapid over moderate weight gain is that catch-up growth, growth delayed due to malnutrition, is more quickly achieved. If treatment can be completed in a shorter period of time, more children can be treated at a lower cost. Severely malnourished children may require hospitalization for the initial period of catch-up growth. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Health aspects, Care and treatment, Children, Growth, Growth (Physiology), Malnutrition in children, Child malnutrition, Kwashiorkor

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Changes in total body water with age

Article Abstract:

Water is the most plentiful substance in the human body; it has important functions in transport of nutrients, removal of waste products, temperature regulation and maintenance of cell size. Water is found both inside cells (intracellular) and around cells (extracellular). Not all body tissues contain water, since fat generally does not attract water-containing substances. The composition of the human body can be visualized as containing two basic compartments, fat and fat-free tissue. The proportion of water in fat-free tissue is predictable given the individual's age. In young adults, fat-free mass is 72 percent water; infants have a higher proportion of water and the elderly, a lower water content. The shift towards less body water and more body fat occurs gradually over the life span and differs by sex. Women typically show minimal reductions in water content until age 60, when rapid loss of total body water begins. Men experience these same body composition changes earlier, in middle age, and they occur more gradually. Scientists have not determined whether it is the intracellular or extracellular water that decreases most with age. But it is clear that the decline in total body water reflects a decline in fat-free, or lean, body mass. Thus with aging the percentage of lean tissues, such as muscle and bone, falls as the percentage of body fat rises.

Aging, Research, Analysis, Statistics, Water in the body, Body water, Body fluids

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