Energy Expenditure in Pregnant Women with Obesity Does Not Support Energy Intake Recommendations

Jasper Most, Porsha M. Vallo, L. Anne Gilmore, Marshall St. Amant, Daniel S. Hsia, Abby D. Altazan, Robbie A. Beyl, Eric Ravussin, Leanne M. Redman

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

22 Scopus citations

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to identify factors that may predispose women to excess gestational weight gain (GWG). Methods: Seventy-two healthy women with obesity (30 class I, 24 class II, 18 class III) expecting a singleton pregnancy were studied at 13 to 16 weeks gestation. Energy expenditure (EE) was measured during sleep (SleepEE, average EE from 0200-0500 hours) in a whole-room calorimeter, and total daily EE (TDEE) over 7 days using doubly labeled water. Glucose, insulin, thyroid hormones, and catecholamines were measured. Results: Body composition explained 70% variability in SleepEE, and SleepEE accounted for 67% to 73% of TDEE. Though there was no evidence of consistent low metabolism, there was considerable variability. Low SleepEE was associated with insulin resistance and low triiodothyronine concentrations (both P = 0.01). Physical activity level was 1.47 ± 0.02. For women with SleepEE within 100 kcal/d of their predicted EE, TDEE was significantly less than the estimate (2,530 ± 91 vs. 2,939 kcal/d; P < 0.001) provided from the most recent gestational energy requirement model. Conclusions: Pregnant women with obesity are inactive, possibly predisposing them to excess GWG. Current energy requirement models overestimate activity and may promote excess GWG in women with obesity. Furthermore, the observed large interindividual variability in basal metabolism may be important to consider when assessing the risk for excess GWG.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)992-999
Number of pages8
JournalObesity
Volume26
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 2018
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Medicine (miscellaneous)
  • Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism
  • Endocrinology
  • Nutrition and Dietetics

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Energy Expenditure in Pregnant Women with Obesity Does Not Support Energy Intake Recommendations'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this