Energy cost of walking in boys who differ in adiposity but are matched for body mass.

PURPOSE

To compare the energy cost of treadmill walking, in pairs of obese and lean adolescents who were matched for total body mass.

METHODS

Metabolic energy expenditure was determined at 67, 83, and 100 m.min-1, in nine obese and nine nonobese 11- to 18-yr-old boys. Total adiposity and fat distribution in the trunk and limbs were assessed using DXA.

RESULTS

There were no intergroup differences in the net (exercise minus rest) energy cost at the two lower speeds, but the obese boys expended more energy at 100 m.min-1 (12%, P < 0.05). Heart rate was consistently higher in the obese boys: 18% at 67 m.min-1, 22% at 83 m.min-1, and 28% at 100 m.min-1. Pooling all subjects together, body mass, rather than adiposity, was the main predictor of energy cost: 89.1%, 76.3%, and 62.1% (P < 0.05 for all) of the total variance at 67, 83, and 100 m.min-1, respectively. The variance explained by total body fat was only 2.1%, 8.4%, and 16%, respectively. There was no relationship between [OV0312]O(2net) and the proportion of fat in body segments.

CONCLUSION

It is total body mass, more than adiposity (total and regional) per se, that affects the energy cost of locomotion in obese boys.