Predictive equation for basal metabolic rate of young Indian soldiers

Abstract

Background: Currently, no specific predictive equation for BMR has been developed for the Indian armed forces whose BMR is expected to be higher compared to that of the general population because a greater proportion of their body weight is typically made up of muscle mass and bones. Aims and Objective: The present study aimed to identify a best suitable BMR predictive equation specifically for the young Indian soldiers and to compare the measured BMR values with those estimated using other equations. Materials and Methods: Cross-sectional study on healthy individuals using random sampling. Anthropometric and body composition measurements, oxygen consumption (VO2) and carbondioxide production (VCO2) during experiment were determined by the process of breath-by-breath gas analysis using K4b2 system. Data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 12.0 (SPSS Inc, Chicago, IL, USA). The relationship between the measured BMR and the recorded variables were evaluated using Pearson’s correlation coefficients and linear regression analysis. The results were considered significant at 5% level. Result: Mean measured BMR was significantly lower by 1.41%, 20.11%, , 14.71%, , 19.21%, and 21.8% (p <0.001) compared to the mean BMR predicted using the Weir, FAO/WHO/UNU, Harris and Benedict, ICMR and Miffin equations respectively. Conclusion: BMR in Indian is lower than predicted by the FAO/WHO/UNU 1985 equations by an average of 20.1% suggesting that lower energy needs of present study with similar body weight may put them at greater risk for developing obesity, especially in overweight people.

Keywords

• indian army
• bmr
• prediction
• anthropometry
• body composition