Resting Energy Expenditure in Elite Female Athletes of Different

Sports

Olivia Di Vincenzo

, Maurizio Marra

, Delia Morlino

, Enza Speranza

, Rosa Sammarco

Iolanda Cioffi

and Luca Scalfi

Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, Federico II University of Naples,

Via S. Pansini 5, 80131, Naples, Italy

Department of Public Health, Federico II University of Naples, Via S. Pansini 5, 80131, Naples, Italy

Keywords: Athletes, Resting Energy Expenditure, Body Composition, Bioimpedance.

Abstract: An optimal balance between energy intake and energy expenditure is essential for athlete performance,

therefore, measuring Resting Energy Expenditure (REE) in athletes might help for providing adequate

energy needs. This study aimed to evaluate REE measured with indirect calorimetry in elite female athletes

practicing ballet dance, volleyball and swimming and if REE varied among the three sport groups after

adjustment for fat-free mass (FFM). Elite female athletes aged 18-35 years who train for at least 16/18 hours

per week were recruited. Anthropometry, indirect calorimetry and bioimpedance analysis were performed.

Ballet dancers had the lowest FFM and FM in both absolute and percentage values (p<0.05) compared to

other athletes. REE was lower in ballet dancers than in volleyball players (REE:1320±139 kcal/die vs.

1538±124 kcal/die, p=0.001) even after adjustment for age. After adjustment for FFM and for both FFM

and age, REE was lower in ballet dancers than volleyball players but did not achieve statistical significance.

Our study showed that REE in sport is mostly influenced by age and body composition and confirmed that

FFM is the major determinant of REE. Further valuations are needed to evaluate if REE could also be

influenced by dietary habits as well as by age in which athletes start sport activity.

1 INTRODUCTION

Resting Energy Expenditure (REE) is the amount of

energy spent at rest in a fasted state at a

thermoneutral condition and it represents more than

60% of total energy expenditure in normal-weight

healthy adults (Trexler 2014, Marra 2015).

Generally, indirect calorimetry (IC) is the criterion

method for measuring REE (McClave 1992),

alternatively, REE is estimated by predictive

equations and the Harris and Benedict formula

(Harris and Benedict 1918), has been the most

popular equation used in healthy participants.

Elite athletes have higher energy needs than non-

athletic subjects for training and recovery. Since an

optimal balance between energy intake and energy

expenditure is essential for athlete performance,

measuring their REE might help for determining

properly their energy requirements. In fact, the

under- or overestimation of athlete’s energy needs

might result in a loss of fat-free mass (FFM),

increased fat mass, impaired performance and

increased risk of injuries (Loucks 2004; Rodriguez

2009; ten Haaf 2014).

REE is known to be influenced by sex, weight as

well as body composition. In fact, the major

determinant of REE is FFM. Consequently, the

assessment of FFM is of great importance in

evaluating REE in athletes.

From a practical point of view, bioelectrical

impedance analysis (BIA) is a widely used, non-

invasive field method for assessing body

composition in athletes. Even more, raw BIA

variables such as phase angle (PhA) have been

shown to be significantly associated with muscle

strength and physical activity (Moon 2013;

Mundstock 2019) and to be higher in athletes than

general population (Di Vincenzo 2019; Di Vincenzo

2020).

To the best of our knowledge, very little is

known regarding REE of female athletes, which can

widely vary depending on the sport type. Ballet

dance, volleyball and swimming are the most

popular sports among females. These are different

sport specialties and the type of physical exercise,

144

Di Vincenzo, O., Marra, M., Morlino, D., Speranza, E., Sammarco, R., Ciofﬁ, I. and Scalﬁ, L.

Resting Energy Expenditure in Elite Female Athletes of Different Sports.

DOI: 10.5220/0010107701440147

In Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Sport Sciences Research and Technology Support (icSPORTS 2020), pages 144-147

ISBN: 978-989-758-481-7

the different trophism, and therefore, body

composition of the athletes, varies among these

disciplines. To date, REE has not been previously

compared between these three different sports.

Therefore, based on this background, the first

aim of the study was to evaluate REE measured with

indirect calorimetry in elite female athletes

practicing ballet dance, volleyball and swimming.

Additionally, we aimed to evaluate if REE could

vary among the three sport groups after adjustment

for FFM.

2 METHODS

Inclusion criteria of the present study were: elite

female athletes aged 18-35 years who train for a

minimum of 16/18 hours per week. Subjects affected

by overt metabolic and/or endocrine diseases and/or

regularly taking any medications affecting energy

metabolism, were excluded.

All measurements were performed early in the

morning after an overnight fast according to

standardized conditions, abstention from vigorous

physical activity for 24 hours prior to the

assessment.

Body weight and stature were measured to the

nearest 0.1 kg and 0.5 cm, respectively, using a

platform beam scale with a built-in stadiometer

(Seca 709; Seca, Hamburg Germany). Body Mass

Index (BMI, kg/m²) was calculated as body weight

(kg) divided by squared stature (m).

BIA was performed at 50 kHz (Human Im Plus

II, DS Medica). Measurements were carried out on

the nondominant side of the body, in the post-

absorptive state, after voiding and with the subject in

the supine position for 20 minutes, with a leg

opening of 45° from the median line of the body and

the upper limbs, 30° apart from the trunk (Kyle

2004). The BIA variables considered were resistance

(R), reactance (Xc), and PhA. FFM was estimated

using the Sun equation (Sun et al. 2003). Fat mass

(FM) was calculated as the difference between body

weight and FFM.

REE was measured by indirect calorimetry

(McClave 1992) using a canopy system (V max29,

Sensor Medics, Anaheim, U.S.A.).

Measurement conditions for IC were defined

following the suggestions made by Compher et al.

(Compher 2006) and Fullmer et al. (Fullmer 2015).

REE was measured at an ambient temperature of 22-

25 °C with the subjects fasting (12-14 hours) and

laying down, but awake, on a bed in a quiet

environment. REE was assessed during the

postmenstrual phase to avoid any potential effects of

the menstrual cycle. After a 15-minute adaptation

period, oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide

production were measured for 45 minutes. Energy

expenditure was calculated using the abbreviated

Weir’s formula, neglecting protein oxidation (Weir

1949). Data were excluded from analysis if the

respiratory quotient was outside the expected range

(0.71-1.00) and when measured REE was ±3

standard deviations outside the mean REE (Marra

2019).

Statistical Analysis

Statistical analyses were performed using IBM SPSS

(version 20). All data are presented as

mean±standard deviations (SD), unless otherwise

specified. Comparisons between groups were

conducted by analysis of variance (ANOVA) and

Tukey post hoc test for multiple comparisons was

adopted. Significance was defined as p <0.05.

3 RESULTS

Forty elite female athletes (age=27.5±10.9 years;

weight=56.6±7.6 kg; stature=166±5 cm;

BMI=20.4±2.0 kg/m²) were selected for this study.

Anthropometric characteristics of the subjects

divided according to sport specialty are summarized

in Table 1.

Table 1: Subject’s characteristics.

Ballet

dancers

(n =10)

Volleyball

Players

(n =15)

Swimmers

(n =15)

Age (years)

Weight (kg)

Stature (cm)

BMI

(kg/m

)

18.6±0.9 22.4±2.7 41.4±6.6*

47.7±4.4§ 62.7±4.6 59.2±3.0

163±5° 169±5 166±3

17.9±1.0§ 21.8±1.1 21.4±1.0

Data are reported as mean±standard deviation; BMI=body

mass index.

p<0.05 *=vs all; §=vs all; °=vs volleyball players.

Swimmers were significatively older than other

athletes whereas ballet dancers had the lowest

weight, stature and, consequently, BMI (p<0.05).

Table 2 shows REE, body composition and PhA

data of the three groups. Ballet dancers had the

lowest FFM and both FM and FM% (p<0.05).

Otherwise, similar PhA values were observed among

the groups.

Resting Energy Expenditure in Elite Female Athletes of Different Sports

145

REE was lower in ballet dancers than in

volleyball players (-14.2%, p=0.001) (Table 2) even

after adjustment for age (-14.5%, p= 0.001) (Table

3). Otherwise, after adjustment for FFM and for both

FFM and age, REE was lower (-7.0% and -7.6%,

respectively) in ballet dancers than volleyball

players but did not achieve statistical significance as

showed in Table 3.

Table 2: Resting energy expenditure, body composition,

bioelectrical impedance phase angle.

Ballet

dancers

(n =10)

Volleyball

Players

(n =15)

Swimmers

(n =15)

REE

(kcal/day)

FFM (kg)

FM (kg)

FM (%)

PhA (degrees)

1320±139° 1538±124 1451±63

0.81±0.01 0.83±0.60 0.81±0.59

40.4±3.8§ 47.8±3.6 45.6±2.0

7.2±1.6§ 15.0±1.2 13.6±1.2

15.1±2.8§ 23.8±0.9 23.0±1.1

6.95±0.46 6.92±0.38 6.53±0.46

Data are reported as mean±standard deviation; REE=resting

energy expenditure; RQ=respiratory quotient; FFM=fat-free

mass; FM=fat mass; PhA=phase angle.

p<0.05 °=vs volleyball players; §=vs all.

Table 3: Resting energy expenditure adjusted for FFM and

for age.

Ballet

dancers

(n =10)

Volleybal

l Players

(n =15)

Swimmers

(n =15)

REE adj. age

(kcal/day)

1310±64° 1533±48 1465±89

REE adj. FFM

(kcal/day)

1385±44 1489±41 1436±35

REE adj. FFM

and age

(kcal/day)

1362±62 1474±51 1473±81

Data are reported as mean±standard deviation; REE=resting

energy expenditure; adj.=adjusted for.

p<0.05 °=vs volleyball players.

4 DISCUSSION

As primary outcome, this study aimed to evaluate

REE measured with IC in elite female athletes

practicing ballet dance, volleyball and swimming.

Our results showed that measured REE differed

between the three groups. Specifically, it was

significantly lower in ballet dancers than in

volleyball players, probably due to lower weight (-

23.9%) and FFM (-15.5%). The difference in REE

persisted when it was adjusted for age (-14.5%, p=

0.001) and even for FFM (-7.0%) and for both FFM

and age (-7.6%) but in the latter without achieving a

statistical significance.

The reduced REE assessed in ballet dancers

could be due to a different energy intake, the high

performance and because of body image issues (Di

Vincenzo 2020). Another explanation is potentially

related to the start of the physical preparation in pre-

pubertal age because the intense training

significantly modifies body composition

components (Marra 2019). Additionally, considering

that professional ballet dancers have biomechanical

changes and functional performance related to

intense dance training, they developed a metabolic

adaptation at the physical activity, (Yin 2018).

However, it should be noted that these results could

be affected by the low number of participants among

sport groups and by the absence of a control group.

In conclusion our study showed that REE in

sport is mostly influenced by age and body

composition and confirmed that the major

determinant of REE is FFM.

Further valuations are needed to evaluate if REE

could be also influenced by dietary habits and the

age in which athletes start sport activity.

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