A Preliminary Research on Energy Expenditure Assessment with 24-hour Life Observation Method and Activity Recorder Method

Objective—To understand the daily energy expenditure of military personnel with different measurement method, so as to provide scientific basis for guiding the military personnel’ reasonable energy intake and dietary supply. Methods—67 male military personnel were included in the study. The total energy expenditure (TEE) was assessed by 24-hour life observation method and activity recorder (ActiGraph GT3X+) method. The results of these two different energy expenditure assessment methods were compared by paired t-test. Results—With the 24-hour life observation method the average energy consumption of various actions(ECVA) and TEE-24 were (3672.42 ± 829.78)kcal and (3839.26 ± 834.75) kcal respectively. Using Actigraph GT3X+ to measure their average energy consumption of physical activity(PA) and TEE-Actigraph were (1416.47 ± 615.17) kcal and (3251.68 ± 680.98) kcal respectively, and the mean difference between TEE-24 and TEE-Actigraph was (587.58 ± 540.16) kcal. There is a strong correlation between the measurement results of the two methods(r = 0.764, p < 0.001). Conclusions—The measurement result of activity recorder (ActiGraph GT3X+) method and 24-hour life observation method is highly related. The activity recorder (ActiGraph GT3X+) method is more objective and easier to be implemented for the military personnel. Further comparative studies should be performed to find more objective, accurate, reproducible, and maneuverable methods.