Resting Energy Expenditure in Obese Black
Women
The prevalence of obesity among African
American women approaches 50 percent and greatly exceeds rates for Caucasian
women. In addition, black women lose less weight than white during obesity
treatment and gain more weight when untreated. This study assessed resting
energy expenditure (REE) and body composition in obese white (n = 122)
and black (n = 44) women to explore the relationship between biological
variables and these observed differences. Resting energy expenditure and
body composition were assessed by indirect calorimetry and densitometry,
respectively, before weight loss. Resting energy expenditure was significantly
lower in black subjects (1637.6 +/- 236.9 kcal/d) than in white (1731.4
+/- 262.0) (p = 0.04). Resting energy expenditure remained significantly
lower in blacks than whites after adjusting for body weight. Resting energy
expenditure, adjusted for fat-free mass, was also significantly lower
in blacks than whites, although the overestimation of fat-free mass by
densitometry in blacks may have contributed to this finding. There were
no differences between the groups in respiratory quotient. These results
suggest that a decreased resting energy expenditure may exist in obese
black women, and it may be related to the observed differences between
black and white women in the prevalence of obesity and in the response
to weight loss treatment. These cross-sectional findings await confirmation
in longitudinal studies.
Source; Foster GD, Wadden TA, Vogt RA.
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
1997
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