Publications by authors named "Kara Ebersole"
Background: There is an assumption that people in developing countries have a higher total energy expenditure (TEE) and physical activity level (PAL) than do people in developed nations, but few objective data for this assertion exist.
Objective: We conducted a meta-analysis of TEE and PAL by using data from countries that have a low or middle human development index (HDI) compared with those with a high HDI to better understand how energy-expenditure variables are associated with development status and population differences in body size.
Design: We performed a literature search for studies in which energy expenditure was measured by using doubly labeled water.
Article Synopsis
- There is a significant prevalence of stunting (over 38%) in children under 5 years in rural Nigeria, but there is limited data on height and weight patterns for older children and adolescents.
- The study enrolled 623 participants aged 5-20 from two rural villages, measuring their height and weight to compare against international standards, finding that low relative height affected 50% of males and 15% of females during adolescence.
- The results reveal that many adolescents are underweight, with 37% of males and 23% of females classified as such, and emphasize the need for interventions focused on nutrition and growth in rural Nigeria.
Energy expenditure and adiposity in Nigerian and African-American women.
Obesity (Silver Spring)
September 2008
Article Synopsis
- Obesity is a growing issue in industrialized societies, prompting a study to compare resting energy expenditure (REE) and active energy expenditure (AEE) in women from rural Nigeria and metropolitan Chicago.
- The study involved 149 Nigerian and 172 African-American women, where it was found that Nigerian women had lower body size measurements, but higher adjusted total energy expenditure (TEE) and REE. AEE levels did not show significant differences between the two groups.
- The findings suggest that AEE may not be as crucial in the development of obesity as previously thought, although the impact of the type and duration of activities on energy expenditure remains a possibility that needs further exploration.
Background: The relation between variation in interindividual levels of energy expenditure and weight gain remains controversial.
Objective: To determine whether or not components of the energy budget predict weight change, we conducted an international comparative study in 2 cohorts of women from sociocultural environments that give rise to the extremes of obesity prevalence.
Design: This was a prospective study with energy expenditure measured at baseline and weight measured annually for 3 y.
We assessed activity energy expenditure (AEE) in Mexican-American (MA) and European-American (EA) children. Total energy expenditure (TEE) was measured using the doubly-labeled water method; AEE was calculated as the difference between TEE and resting EE (REE), and physical activity level (PAL) was calculated as TEE/REE. Groups were comparable for age, sex and body mass index (BMI).
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