Skip to main content
Journal cover image

Daily energy expenditure through the human life course.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Pontzer, H; Yamada, Y; Sagayama, H; Ainslie, PN; Andersen, LF; Anderson, LJ; Arab, L; Baddou, I; Bedu-Addo, K; Blaak, EE; Blanc, S; Bonomi, AG ...
Published in: Science
August 13, 2021

Total daily energy expenditure ("total expenditure") reflects daily energy needs and is a critical variable in human health and physiology, but its trajectory over the life course is poorly studied. We analyzed a large, diverse database of total expenditure measured by the doubly labeled water method for males and females aged 8 days to 95 years. Total expenditure increased with fat-free mass in a power-law manner, with four distinct life stages. Fat-free mass-adjusted expenditure accelerates rapidly in neonates to ~50% above adult values at ~1 year; declines slowly to adult levels by ~20 years; remains stable in adulthood (20 to 60 years), even during pregnancy; then declines in older adults. These changes shed light on human development and aging and should help shape nutrition and health strategies across the life span.

Duke Scholars

Altmetric Attention Stats
Dimensions Citation Stats

Published In

Science

DOI

EISSN

1095-9203

Publication Date

August 13, 2021

Volume

373

Issue

6556

Start / End Page

808 / 812

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Young Adult
  • Pregnancy
  • Middle Aged
  • Male
  • Infant, Newborn
  • Infant
  • Humans
  • General Science & Technology
  • Female
  • Exercise
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Pontzer, H., Yamada, Y., Sagayama, H., Ainslie, P. N., Andersen, L. F., Anderson, L. J., … IAEA DLW Database Consortium. (2021). Daily energy expenditure through the human life course. Science, 373(6556), 808–812. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abe5017
Pontzer, Herman, Yosuke Yamada, Hiroyuki Sagayama, Philip N. Ainslie, Lene F. Andersen, Liam J. Anderson, Lenore Arab, et al. “Daily energy expenditure through the human life course.Science 373, no. 6556 (August 13, 2021): 808–12. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abe5017.
Pontzer H, Yamada Y, Sagayama H, Ainslie PN, Andersen LF, Anderson LJ, et al. Daily energy expenditure through the human life course. Science. 2021 Aug 13;373(6556):808–12.
Pontzer, Herman, et al. “Daily energy expenditure through the human life course.Science, vol. 373, no. 6556, Aug. 2021, pp. 808–12. Pubmed, doi:10.1126/science.abe5017.
Pontzer H, Yamada Y, Sagayama H, Ainslie PN, Andersen LF, Anderson LJ, Arab L, Baddou I, Bedu-Addo K, Blaak EE, Blanc S, Bonomi AG, Bouten CVC, Bovet P, Buchowski MS, Butte NF, Camps SG, Close GL, Cooper JA, Cooper R, Das SK, Dugas LR, Ekelund U, Entringer S, Forrester T, Fudge BW, Goris AH, Gurven M, Hambly C, El Hamdouchi A, Hoos MB, Hu S, Joonas N, Joosen AM, Katzmarzyk P, Kempen KP, Kimura M, Kraus WE, Kushner RF, Lambert EV, Leonard WR, Lessan N, Martin C, Medin AC, Meijer EP, Morehen JC, Morton JP, Neuhouser ML, Nicklas TA, Ojiambo RM, Pietiläinen KH, Pitsiladis YP, Plange-Rhule J, Plasqui G, Prentice RL, Rabinovich RA, Racette SB, Raichlen DA, Ravussin E, Reynolds RM, Roberts SB, Schuit AJ, Sjödin AM, Stice E, Urlacher SS, Valenti G, Van Etten LM, Van Mil EA, Wells JCK, Wilson G, Wood BM, Yanovski J, Yoshida T, Zhang X, Murphy-Alford AJ, Loechl C, Luke AH, Rood J, Schoeller DA, Westerterp KR, Wong WW, Speakman JR, IAEA DLW Database Consortium. Daily energy expenditure through the human life course. Science. 2021 Aug 13;373(6556):808–812.
Journal cover image

Published In

Science

DOI

EISSN

1095-9203

Publication Date

August 13, 2021

Volume

373

Issue

6556

Start / End Page

808 / 812

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Young Adult
  • Pregnancy
  • Middle Aged
  • Male
  • Infant, Newborn
  • Infant
  • Humans
  • General Science & Technology
  • Female
  • Exercise