Energy requirements of urban Chinese adults with manual or sedentary occupations, determined using the doubly labeled water method

Objective To examine total energy expenditure (TEE) in relation to occupation and reported leisure time activities in free-living Chinese adults, and to determine whether measured TEE values differ from current international dietary energy recommendations.Setting and subjects Seventy three weight-maintaining adults aged 35-49 y, leading unrestricted lives in urban Beijing, with a wide variety of occupations.Design and methods A cross-sectional study in which TEE was determined by doubly labeled water, body composition by deuterium oxide ((2)H(2)O) dilution, resting energy expenditure (pREE) by prediction equations, and occupational and leisure time activities by questionnaire.Results For men and women respectively, TEE averaged 12.10+/-0.32 and 9.53+/-0.23 MJ/day (PConclusion Level of occupational activity, but not duration or type of leisure activity, significantly predicted TEE in free-living urban Chinese adults. Current energy requirement recommendations slightly underestimated the energy needs of women with light occupations but were accurate for men and women with moderate and heavy occupations.Sponsorship NIH grants DK53404 and F32-DK09747.