Marginal malnutrition in school-aged Colombian girls: dietary intervention and daily energy expenditure.

Total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) and energy expended in activity (EAc) were estimated in 24 control (nutritionally normal) and 20 marginally undernourished girls, 8-11 years of age, before and after a dietary intervention which supplied an average of approximately 600 kcal/d only to the undernourished subjects. In the latter, the velocity of weight gain was significantly increased after dietary supplementation as were skinfold thickness and mid-arm circumference. EAc was not diminished in the undernourished subjects nor did it increase following dietary supplementation. It is suggested that in school-aged children, peer pressure to keep up with activities in school and play may attenuate the reduced activity sometimes seen in preschool and adult subjects as a response to restricted energy intake. Instead, at marginal levels of malnutrition, reduced growth in the school-aged group may be the first level of response with reduced physical activity seen only at more severe levels of nutritional deprivation.