Daily energy expenditure and physical activity assessed by an activity diary in 374 randomly selected 15-year-old adolescents.

OBJECTIVES

To assess the average daily levels of physical activity, energy expenditure and the time and energy spent a different activities in two cohorts of Swedish adolescents.

DESIGN

Total energy expenditure (TEE) and physical activity level (PAL = TEE/basal metabolic rate (BMR)) were estimated in 374 randomly selected healthy adolescents living with two different regions of Sweden on the basis of a seven-day activity diary (AD) and predicted BMR. A validation of the estimates from the AD with the doubly labelled water (DLW) method in a randomly selected subsample of 50 of these subjects is presented elsewhere.

SETTING

The Unit of Paediatric of the Department of Clinical Physiology, University Hospital, Uppsala and the Department of Paediatrics, Northern Alvsborg Hospital, Trollhättan, Sweden.

RESULTS

No significant differences in TEE and PAL were found between the adolescents of the two regions. High levels of TEE (14.2 and 10.9 MJ/d in boys and girls, respectively) and PAL (1.95 and 1.80) were observed. There was a close association between the PAL and the adolescents and their reported time spent sitting. Those with the lowest PAL values spent 3-6 h longer each day sitting compared to those with the highest PAL values. The results also indicate that everyday activities such as walking and bicycling have a crucial impact on the PAL values.

CONCLUSIONS

In the 15 y old adolescents of the two studied regions of Sweden, high and concordant levels of energy expenditure and physical activity were found.