Abstract
BACKGROUND: Reference data for physical activity level (PAL) and activity-related energy expenditure (AEE) are needed for a better understanding of the effect of activity on childhood health, growth and development
OBJECTIVE: Data from 17 studies measuring TDEE (TDEE) with doubly labelled water DLW were combined to construct a reference line for PAL and AEE as a function of age.
DESIGN: A total of 17 studies from the literature were analyzed; 17 on girls and 16 on boys. Children were aged 3–16 y and of Caucasian origin. Weighted least-squares regression was used to obtain reference lines for PAL and AEE as a function of age and gender. The relative numbers of children per study were used as a weighting factor. Basal metabolic rate (BMR) or nonfasted (NF) resting metabolic rate and sex were included in the analysis.
RESULTS: Although there was no difference in PAL between boys and girls, a significant difference in AEE was found between the two sexes. PAL: 0.025 × age+1.40. AEE (MJ/day): boys 0.30 × age+0.025; girls 0.21 × age+0.33. If BMR is measured under NF conditions, the obtained value has to be reduced by 0.21 for PAL and 0.75 MJ/day for AEE. No relation was found between AEE/kg and age.
CONCLUSIONS: PAL and AEE were found to increase with age, showing the importance of age-dependent recommendations. Recommendations for AEE need to be differentiated for sex. To compare PAL and AEE between studies, the measurement conditions of BMR have to be taken into account. The increase in PAL and AEE values can be attributed to an increase in weight, because there was no relation between AEE/kg and age.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$259.00 per year
only $21.58 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Mossberg HO . Forty year follow-up of overweight children. Lancet 1989; 2: 491–494.
Gortmaker SL, Dietz WH, Sobol AM, Wehler CA . Increasing paediatric obesity in the United States. Am J Dis Child 1987; 141: 491–494.
Fontvieille AM, Herper IT, Spraul M, Ravussin E . Daily energy expenditure by five-year-old children, measured by doubly labeled water. J Pediatr 1993; 123: 200–207.
US Department Of Health And Human Services. Physical activity and health: a report of the surgeon general. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion: Atlanta, GA: US; 1996.
World Health Organization. Energy and protein requirements, report of a joint FAO/WHO/UNU expert consultation. WHO: Geneva; 1985.
James WPT, Ferro-Luzzi A, Waterlow JC . Definition of chronic energy deficieny in adults. Report of a working party of the International Dietary Energy Consultancy Group. Eur J Clin Nutr 1988; 42: 969–981.
Torun B, Davies PSW, Livingstone MBE, Paolissis M, Spurr GB . Energy requirements and dietary recommendations for children and adolescents 1 to 18 years old. Eur J Clin Nutr 1996; 50: S37–S81.
Westerterp KR, Bouten CVC . Physical activity assessment: comparison between movement registration and double labeled water method. Z Ernahrungswiss 1997; 36: 263–267.
Nguyen VT, Larson DE, Johnson RK, Goran MI . Fat intake and obesity in children of lean and obese parents. Am J Clin Nutr 1996; 63: 507–513.
Craig SB, Bandini LG, Lichtenstein AH, Schaefer EJ, Dietz WH . The impact of physical activity on lipids, lipoproteins, and blood pressure in preadolescent girls. Pediatrics 1996; 98: 389–395.
Goran MI, Kaskoun M, Johnson R, Martinez C, Kelly B, Hood V . Energy expenditure and body fat distribution in Mohawk children. Pediatrics 1995; 95: 89–95.
Atkin L-M, Davies PSW . Diet composition and body composition in preschool children. Am J Clin Nutr 2000; 72: 15–21.
Ekelund U, Sjostrom M, Yngve A, Poortvliet E, Nilsson A, Froberg K, Wedderkopp N, Westerterp K . Physical activity assessed by activity monitor and doubly labeled water in children. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2001; 33: 275–281.
Schofield WN . Predicting basal metabolic rate, new standards and review of previous work. Hum Nutr Clin Nutr 1985; 39: 5–41.
Westerterp KR, Wouters L, Van Marken-Lichtenbelt W . The Maastricht protocol for the measurement of body composition and energy expenditure with labeled water. Obes Res 1995; 3: 49–57.
Bar-Or O . Physical activity and physical training in childhood obesity. J Sports Med Phys Fit 1993; 33: 323–329.
Obarzanek E, Schreiber GB, Crawford PB, Goldman SR, Barrier PM, Frederick MM, Lakatos E . Energy intake and physical activity in relation to indexes of body fat: the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute Growth and Health Study. Am J Clin Nutr 1994; 60: 15–22.
Wilkinson PW, Parkin JM, Pearlson G, Strong H, Sykes P . Energy intake and physical activity in obese children. BMJ 1977; 6063: 756.
Dietz WH, Gortmaker SL . Do we fatten our children at the television set? Obesity and television viewing in children and adolescents. Pediatrics 1985; 75: 807–812.
Goran MI, Hunter G, Johnson R . Physical actvity related energy expenditure and fat mass in young children. Int J Obes Rel Metab Disord 1997; 21: 171–178.
Ball EJ, O'Connor J, Abbott R, Steinbeck KS, Davies PSW, Wishart C, Gaskinand KJ, Baur LA . Total energy expenditure, body fatness, and physical activity in children aged 6–9 years. Am J Clin Nutr 2001; 74: 524–528.
Ku LC, Shapiro LR, Crawford PB, Huenemann RL . Body composition and physical activity in 8-year-old children. Am J Clin Nutr 1981; 34: 2770–2775.
Schoeller DA . Measurement of energy expenditure in free-living humans using double labeled water. J Nutr 1988; 118: 1278–1289.
Noland M, Danner F, Dewalt K, McFadden M, Kotchen JM . The measurement of physical activity in young children. Res Q Exerc Sport 1990; 61: 146–153.
Bailey RC, Olson J, Pepper SL, Porszasz J, Barstow TJ, Cooper DM . The level and tempo of children's physical activities: an observational study. Med Sci Sports Exerc 1995; 27: 1033–1041.
Waters RLL, Perry BR, Byrd JR . Energy–speed relationship of walking: standard tables. Orthop Res Soc 1988; 6: 215–222.
Bouten CV, Verboeket-van de Venne WP, Westerterp KR, Verduin M, Janssen JD . Daily physical activity assessment: comparison between movement registration and doubly labeled water. J Appl Physiol 1996; 81: 1019–1026.
Meijer EP, Goris AHC, Wouters L, Westerterp KR . Physical activity as a determinant of the physical activity level in the elderly. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 2001; 25: 935–939.
Ekelund U, Aman J, Yngve A, Renman C, Westerterp K, Sjostrom M . Physical activity but not energy expenditure is reduced in obese adolescents: a case–control study. Am J Clin Nutr 2002; 76: 935–941.
Schoeller DA, Jefford G . Determinants of the energy costs of light activities: inferences for interpreting doubly labeled water data. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 2002; 26: 97–101.
Caspersen CJ, Pereira MA, Curran KM . Changes in physical activity patterns in the United States, by sex and cross-sectional age. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2000; 32: 1601–1609.
van Mechelen W, Twisk JW, Post GB, Snel J, Kemper HC . Physical activity of young people: the Amsterdam Longitudinal Growth and Health Study. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2000; 32: 1610–1616.
Telama R, Yang X . Decline of physical activity from youth to young adulthood in Finland. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2000; 32: 1617–1622.
Bandini LG, Schoeller DA, Dietz WH . Energy expenditure in obese and nonobese adolescents. Paediatr Res 1990; 27: 198–203.
Bandini LG, Schoeller DA, Edwards J, Young VR, Oh SH, Dietz WH . Energy expenditue during carbohydrate overfeeding in obese and nonobese adolescents. Am J Physiol 1989; 256: E357–E367.
Black AE, Coward WA, Cole TJ, Prentice AM . Human energy expenditure in affluent societies: an analysis of 574 doubly-labelled water measurements. Eur J Clin Nutr 1996; 50: 72–92.
Bratteby L-E, Sandhagen B, Fan H, Enghardt H, Samuelson G . Total energy expenditure and physical activity as assessed by the doubly labeled water method in Swedish adolescents in whom energy intake was underestimated by 7-d diet records. Am J Clin Nutr 1998; 67: 905–911.
Goran MI, Carpenter WH, Poehlman ET . Total energy expenditure in 4- to 6-yr-old children. Am J Physiol 1993; 264: E706–E711.
Goran MI, Gower BA, Nagy TR, Johnson RK . Developmental changes in energy expenditure and physical activity in children: evidence for a decline in physical activity in girls before puberty. Pediatrics 1998; 101: 887–891.
Hoffman DJ, Sawaya AL, Coward WA, Wright A, Martins PA, Nascimento C, Tucker KL, Roberts SB . Energy expenditure of stunted and nonstunted boys and girls living in the shantytowns of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Am J Clin Nutr 2000; 72: 1025–1031.
Johnson RK, Russ J, Goran MI . Physical activity related energy expenditure in children by doubly labeled water as compared with the Caltrac accelerometer. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 1998; 22: 1046–1052.
Livingstone MB, Coward WA, Prentice AM et al. Daily energy expenditure in free-living children: comparison of heart-rate monitoring with the doubly labeled water (2H2(18)O) method. Am J Clin Nutr 1992; 56: 343–352.
Luke A, Roizen NJ, Sutton M, Schoeller DA . Energy expenditure in children with Down syndrome: correcting metabolic rate for movement. J Pediatr 1994; 125: 829–838.
Sun MI, Gower BA, Nagy TR, Trowbridge CA, Dezenberg C, Goran MI . Total, resting and activity-related energy expenditures are similar in Caucasian and African-American children. Am J Physiol 1998; 274: E232–E237.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hoos, M., Gerver, W., Kester, A. et al. Physical activity levels in children and adolescents. Int J Obes 27, 605–609 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0802246
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0802246
Keywords
This article is cited by
-
Evidence for energetic tradeoffs between physical activity and childhood growth across the nutritional transition
Scientific Reports (2018)
-
Daily physical activity as determined by age, body mass and energy balance
European Journal of Applied Physiology (2015)
-
Physical activity, energy expenditure and their correlates in two cohorts of Swedish subjects between adolescence and early adulthood
European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2005)
-
Physical activity pattern of children assessed by triaxial accelerometry
European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2004)