Skip to main content
Journal cover image

Effects of age on energy expenditure and substrate oxidation during experimental overfeeding in healthy men.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Roberts, SB; Fuss, P; Dallal, GE; Atkinson, A; Evans, WJ; Joseph, L; Fiatarone, MA; Greenberg, AS; Young, VR
Published in: J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci
March 1996

Relatively little is known about the influence of age on energy regulation during energy imbalance. We compared the effects of overfeeding on changes in energy expenditure, substrate oxidation, and energy deposition between young men (age 23.7 +/- 1.1 [SEM] years) and older men (age 70.0 +/- 7.0) of normal body weight who were leading unrestricted lives. Changes in total energy expenditure, resting energy expenditure (REE), the thermic effect of feeding (TEF), respiratory quotient (RQ), and body energy content were determined in response to overeating by 4.09 +/- 0.07 Megajoule (MJ)/day for 21 days in 16 healthy subjects consuming a typical diet. After excluding data from one young subject with unusual results and adjusting for individual differences in excess energy intake, there was a tendency towards a smaller increase in REE in older men compared to the young men (p = .07) which was accounted for by their lower fat-free mass (p = .016). There was also a significantly smaller increase in resting energy expenditure averaged over fasting and fed states (i.e, REE + TEF) with overfeeding in older men than in young men (p < .01). Combined, these smaller increases in energy expenditure with overfeeding in the older subjects averaged an estimated 365 kilojoule (kJ)/day (8.9% of the excess energy intake) (p < .02). There were also significant effects of age on fasting RQ (p < .001) and the change in RQ with overfeeding (p < .001), but no significant increase in energy expenditure for physical activity and thermoregulation with overfeeding in either age-group. These results are consistent with the suggestion that older individuals experience both a reduction in the ability to increase energy expenditure, and an alteration in the pattern of substrate utilization, in response to overfeeding. These changes may promote cumulative increases in body energy during normal cycles of positive energy balance unless compensated for by adaptive variations in energy intake.

Duke Scholars

Published In

J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci

DOI

ISSN

1079-5006

Publication Date

March 1996

Volume

51

Issue

2

Start / End Page

B148 / B157

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Oxidation-Reduction
  • Male
  • Hyperphagia
  • Humans
  • Gerontology
  • Energy Metabolism
  • Energy Intake
  • Diet
  • Body Temperature Regulation
  • Body Composition
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Roberts, S. B., Fuss, P., Dallal, G. E., Atkinson, A., Evans, W. J., Joseph, L., … Young, V. R. (1996). Effects of age on energy expenditure and substrate oxidation during experimental overfeeding in healthy men. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci, 51(2), B148–B157. https://doi.org/10.1093/gerona/51a.2.b148
Roberts, S. B., P. Fuss, G. E. Dallal, A. Atkinson, W. J. Evans, L. Joseph, M. A. Fiatarone, A. S. Greenberg, and V. R. Young. “Effects of age on energy expenditure and substrate oxidation during experimental overfeeding in healthy men.J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 51, no. 2 (March 1996): B148–57. https://doi.org/10.1093/gerona/51a.2.b148.
Roberts SB, Fuss P, Dallal GE, Atkinson A, Evans WJ, Joseph L, et al. Effects of age on energy expenditure and substrate oxidation during experimental overfeeding in healthy men. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 1996 Mar;51(2):B148–57.
Roberts, S. B., et al. “Effects of age on energy expenditure and substrate oxidation during experimental overfeeding in healthy men.J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci, vol. 51, no. 2, Mar. 1996, pp. B148–57. Pubmed, doi:10.1093/gerona/51a.2.b148.
Roberts SB, Fuss P, Dallal GE, Atkinson A, Evans WJ, Joseph L, Fiatarone MA, Greenberg AS, Young VR. Effects of age on energy expenditure and substrate oxidation during experimental overfeeding in healthy men. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 1996 Mar;51(2):B148–B157.
Journal cover image

Published In

J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci

DOI

ISSN

1079-5006

Publication Date

March 1996

Volume

51

Issue

2

Start / End Page

B148 / B157

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Oxidation-Reduction
  • Male
  • Hyperphagia
  • Humans
  • Gerontology
  • Energy Metabolism
  • Energy Intake
  • Diet
  • Body Temperature Regulation
  • Body Composition