American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol 24, 1148-1154, Copyright © 1971 by The American Society for Clinical Nutrition, Inc.

A technique for determination of usual daily energy expenditure in the field

¹ From the Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of California at Berkeley

A field technique is described for the determination of usual daily energy expenditure. It is based on monitoring the heart rate continuously and relating heart rate to oxygen consumption by means of individual regression lines determined in the field. The equipment is battery-operated and fits into a small suitcase. A field method must be chosen on the basis of both internal and external validity. For this technique internal validity is thought to be ±5 to 15%, depending on the amount of sedentary activities. This is similar to that of other methods. External validity is felt to be higher than other methods because the techniques and equipment employed do not interfere with the usual behavior of the subject. The intensity of activity is continuously monitored with this technique.