COMPARISON OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY RATIO OF SPECIFIC PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES PERFORMED BY MILITARY PERSONNEL IN MALAYSIA USING A SELECTION OF PREDICTION EQUATIONS FOR BASAL METABOLIC RATE

Abstract

Maintaining energy balance is one of the key aspects of good health. Personnel in the armed forces are faced with unique challenges as they may be in active duty and perform tasks that are strenuous and difficult. Physical activity ratio (PAR) values may be used to calculate energy requirements in order to provide adequate dietary intake. The primary aim of this study was to determine the effect of using different basal metabolic rate (BMR) prediction equations to determine the PAR of specific physical
activities taken up by cadet officers during their training. The subjects were recruited by advertisement among military personnel and cadet officers within the ages of 20 to 35 years. Volunteers who were healthy non-smokers with no history of diabetes mellitus or hypertension were included. Written informed consents were obtained from all the subjects and the research study was approved by the university research committee. The recruited subjects underwent an anthropometric assessment, including assessment of height and weight. Predicted BMR was calculated using a set of validated prediction equations. Energy expenditure was measured while performing a set of activities using indirect calorimetry. PAR values were calculated as a ratio of the predicted BMR using each of the different equations. The data was expressed as means and averages, with the different PARs obtained compared using the Friedman’s test for nonparametric analyses. The PAR values calculated using the fiveprediction equation did not significantly differ from each other. Predicted BMR was used to determine the PAR for each activity. This value should be confirmed in a larger study population before it can be accepted to compute calorie requirements.
Keywords: Energy expenditure; basal metabolic rate (BMR); military personnel; physical activity ratio (PAR); prediction equation.

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