Longitudinal and cross‐sectional evidence that daily resting and activity energy expenditures are independent in humans

作者：Andrew K. Yegian, Elizabeth Pachus, Leanne M. Redman, Steven B. Heymsfield, Kaja Falkenhain, Alexandra R. Harris, Shaji. K. Chacko, William W. Wong, Daniel E. Lieberman · 发表于：The Journal of Physiology · 年份：2026 · DOI：10.1113/jp291108 · 研究领域：Muscle metabolism and nutrition、Physical Activity and Health、Clinical Nutrition and Gastroenterology

Total energy expenditure (TEE) is commonly modelled as the sum of resting energy expenditure (REE), activity energy expenditure (AEE), and diet-induced thermogenesis (DIT). This additive model has recently been challenged by the constrained energy balance model, which proposes that reductions in mass-adjusted REE compensate to some extent for increases in AEE, rendering mass-adjusted TEE effectively invariant. We tested these competing models using two complementary approaches. First, we conducted a short-term longitudinal, repeated-measures experiment in 12 adults who completed 10-day periods of high and low physical activity separated by a washout period. TEE was measured with doubly labelled water, AEE with wearable sensors, and REE with indirect calorimetry as well as anthropometric equations. Second, we analysed a cross-sectional sample of 268 adults from the Pennington Centre Longitudinal Study that measured TEE and REE independently. In both studies, metabolic rates were analysed using size-adjusted regression models. In the longitudinal experiment, a ∼28% increase in AEE (∼250 kcal/day) increased TEE by 10% (272 kcal/day) without reducing mass-adjusted REE, contradicting predictions of metabolic compensation. In the cross-sectional study, mass-adjusted REE and AEE were statistically independent, with no evidence for metabolic compensation. These results support the additive model of energy expenditure and indicate that increased physical activity does not suppress REE...