Resting Energy Expenditure in Anorexia Nervosa: Measured versus Estimated

Published: 12 March 2012

This study proves that accurate measurement of the REE in underweight anorexia nervosa patients is clinically useful, overcoming the limits of predictive formulas.

Several studies showed that REE is low in underweight patients with Anorexia Nervosa, this is mainly due to the loss of lean body mass, a major determinant of REE, and to a lesser extent, to the effect of several neuroendocrine changes.

The study compared the results obtained by Douglas bag system in assessing REE with the Fitmate method, the Harris-Benedict equation, and the Müller et al. equation in severe underweight anorexia nervosa patients.

The study conclusion was that "REE expenditure in underweight Anorexia Nervosa patients may be estimated with discrete accuracy, after just one day of refeeding, by the Fitmate method". The Fitmate method, in comparison with the Douglas bag method, "is inexpensive, does not requires skilled technicians, and can be used by a wide variety of health professionals to determine the energy need of underweight Anorexia Nervosa patients."

In addition, the study confirms that "the Harris-Benedict equation overestimates the REE in underweight patients with anorexia nervosa and that it should not be used with this population. Using the Harris-Benedict equation to assess the energy need for refeeding underweight Anorexia Nervosa patients may led to prescribe an excessive energy intake that increase the risk to produce severe negative consequences, such as the refeeding syndrome ".

The abstract details are the following:

- Title: "Resting Energy Expenditure in Anorexia Nervosa: Measured versus Estimated"
- Authors: Marwan El Ghoch, Marta Alberti, Carlo Capelli, Simona Calugi, and Riccardo Dalle Grave. Department of Neurological, Neuropsychological, Morphological, and Exercise Sciences, University of Verona, Italy
- Published in: Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism Volume 2012, Article ID 652932, 6 pages

The article can be downloaded at the following link: click here