Objective: To investigate the relationships between resting metabolic rate (RMR) and respiratory exchange ratio (RER) and subsequent changes in body size and fatness.
Design: Prospective longitudinal observational study.
Participants: A sample of 147 participants (76 males, 71 females) 18-68 y of age were followed for approximately 5-1/2 y.
Measures: At baseline, post-absorptive RMR and RER were determined by indirect calorimetry and adjusted for the effects of age, body mass and subcutaneous fatness using regression procedures. Indicators of body size and fatness included body mass, waist circumference, and the sum of six skinfolds. Changes in these indicators (delta scores) were adjusted for age and length of the follow-up period using regression.
Results: Correlations between baseline RMR, RER and subsequent changes in the indicators of body fatness were uniformly low and not significant (range -0.05-0.16). Further, Cox proportional hazards regression analyses indicated that neither RMR nor RER were significant predictors of gains in body mass, waist circumference, or the sum of six skinfolds.
Conclusions: There is no association between RMR or RER and changes in indicators of body size and fatness over 5(1/2) y of follow-up in this sample. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2000) 54, 610-614