Other cross-sectional studies in prepubertal children do not support
the concept that reduced energy expenditure may be related to obesity.
Delany et al" divided a group of 46 children into tertiles according to
their body weight. Fat mass was significantly different across tertiles,
whereas fat-free mass was not. There were no significant differences in
total, resting, or physical activity-related energy expenditure across
groups. Similarly, Treuth et a15* examined total energy expenditure by
the doubly labeled water method, 24-hour sedentary metabolic rate in a
chamber, and resting metabolic rate in obese and nonobese girls. All
components of energy expenditure were similar after adjusting for body
comp~sition.~~ Differences in fat mass were not related to variation in
energy expenditure components in these cross-sectional studies. Similarly,
cross-sectional studies in adolescents3 and have also shown
that energy expenditure components are higher in obese individuals and
similar to lean individuals after adjusting for body composition. A metaanalysis
of total energy expenditure studies in adults has shown that
total energy expenditure is not influenced by fat mass.* Another metaanalysis
of total energy expenditure data has shown that percent body
fat is inversely related to physical activity energy expenditure in men
but not w0men.5~