The benefits of an active lifestyle are undisputed, yet our understanding of the contribution of physical activity (PA) to the daily energy budget is limited. The prevailing model of a linear relationship between PA and total energy expenditure (TEE) has been challenged by models that predict an upper limit of TEE (constrained) or a compensatory decrease elsewhere in the budget in response to increased PA (compensated).
The purpose of this study was to determine the equation of best fit between PA and TEE using linear and non-linear modeling in the light of existing models. Secondarily, we sought to explore relationships between PA and postulated means of behavioral (time sedentary) and physiologic (i.e. Immune, reproductive) compensation.
We measured TEE in 57 healthy weight stable adults (18 to 58 yrs., F = 28) who ranged from being sedentary to ultra-endurance trained runners (0 to 78 mi/wk.) using the doubly labeled water technique and PA and sedentary time using a waist mounted triaxial accelerometer during the same 14-day period. We obtained fasting serum (albumin, cortisol, TNFα, C-reactive protein, free testosterone, TSH and T3), plasma (leptin) and whole blood (WBC with differential) concentrations.
Using linear and non-linear modeling, we observed a positive linear relationship between PA (Vector Magnitude Counts per Minute ) and TEE (R2=0.313, Y = 1.427*X + 1930 and adjusted for fat free mass (FFM) R2=0.363, Y = 1.151*X + 2155). We identified no association between PA and RMR ( R2=0.015 and adjusted for FFM R2=0.010). In addition, we observed an association between higher PA and lower % time sedentary (R2=0.723). Although inconsistent, there was a general trend for higher PA but not TEE or its components to be associated with lower immune and reproductive biomarkers. These findings support a conventional linear model though intervention studies will be needed to further address this issue. / Doctor of Philosophy / The health benefits of being physically active are well known. At the same time there is much that is not understood about the relationship between physical activity and how much energy we spend in a day (total energy expenditure). It has been assumed for a long time that the amount of energy we spend is a simple matter of adding the calories burned at rest, digesting food, and exercising and as we exercise more we continue to add an equal number of calories to the daily budget. We call this the linear or additive model – energy spent increases in a straight line as physical activity increases.
Because we have techniques for measuring total energy expenditure in people going about their usual lives that were not widely available until recently due to cost, scientists have developed new ideas about how increases in physical activity affect total energy expenditure. The constrained model suggests that there is a cap on how many calories we can burn in a day and that our bodies will save energy in other parts of the budget if our physical activity remains high enough to reach or exceed that cap. The second idea is called the compensated model like the constrained model predicts that the rate we spend energy slows down as we exercise more because the body has saved energy in other parts of the budget (compensation).
Researchers don't know for sure if either of these models are correct, so we conducted a study to determine how physical activity and total energy expenditure are related and if our findings agree with either of these models.
We were also interested in determining how physical activity is related to energy spent at rest (resting metabolic rate ) and energy spent being active (physical activity energy expenditure). Finally, we wanted to determine ways that the body might compensate. One way is to spend more time sedentary. Another way is to save energy on less urgent needs like the immune and reproductive systems. Our main goal was to create an equation that explain how higher levels of physical activity are related to total energy expenditure and other parts of the energy budget (RMR and physical activity energy expenditure). We also created equations that explain how physical activity is related to sedentary behavior and immune and reproductive markers in the blood.
We recruited 57 male and female volunteers that represent a wide range of physical activity levels – from sedentary to ultra-endurance trained runners who routinely run as much as 80 miles per week. We measured the energy they spent and physical activity over 2 weeks. In our sample, we found that physical activity was related to total energy expenditure and physical activity energy expenditure in a linear way. We did not find a cap on the amount of energy spent (constraint). We found that participants who exercised more spent less time sedentary not more meaning that we did not find behavioral compensation. It is possible that there was compensation from the immune system because some of the markers of immune function were lower in people who were more physically active, but it was not consistent in all of the blood markers. A larger study using an exercise intervention is needed to assign causation to the correlation we found.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VTETD/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/118981 |
| Date | 14 May 2024 |
| Creators | Howard, Kristen Renee |
| Contributors | Graduate School, Davy, Kevin P., DiFeliceantonio, Alexandra G., Moore, Ignacio T., Davy, Brenda M., Speakman, John |
| Publisher | Virginia Tech |
| Source Sets | Virginia Tech Theses and Dissertation |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Dissertation |
| Format | ETD, application/pdf |
| Rights | In Copyright, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
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