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Intra-individual variation in resting metabolic rate during the menstrual cycle

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 March 2007

C. Jeya K. Henry ,
Helen J. Lightowler  and
Jonathan Marchini
C. Jeya K. Henry*
Affiliation:
Nutrition and Food Science Group, School of Biological and Molecular Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, Gipsy Lane Campus, Headington, Oxford OX3 0BP, UK
Helen J. Lightowler
Affiliation:
Nutrition and Food Science Group, School of Biological and Molecular Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, Gipsy Lane Campus, Headington, Oxford OX3 0BP, UK
Jonathan Marchini
Affiliation:
Department of Statistics, University of Oxford, 1 South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3TG, UK
*
*Corresponding author: Professor Jeya Henry, fax +44 1865 484017, email jhenry@brookes.ac.uk
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Abstract

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Little information exists on the extent of day-to-day intra-individual variation in resting metabolic rate (RMR) in women. The present study has investigated the intra-individual variation in RMR of women during the menstrual cycle. Nineteen women (naturally cycling non-pill users) were recruited to the study. Anthropometric and RMR measurements were taken at least three times per week for the duration of one complete menstrual cycle; measurements were taken for a second, consecutive cycle in eight of the nineteen subjects. RMR was measured by indirect calorimetry using a ventilated hood system under standardized conditions. The measurements made throughout each complete menstrual cycle were averaged and the levels of inter- and intra-individual variation in RMR were assessed by determining the CV (%). Mean RMR of the group was 5686 (SD 674) kJ/d; inter-individual variation in RMR was 11·8 %. There were wide differences in the intra-individual variation in RMR of women (CV range 1·7–10·4 %). The CV in ten subjects was small (2–4 %), while the CV in nine women was high (5–10 %), indicating a significant variation in RMR during the menstrual cycle in certain subjects. Using statistical models, it has been shown that there was a significant effect on RMR due to a subject-specific level of variability; this was the case even when accounting for a possible training effect. In conclusion, the findings from our present study show that RMR cannot be assumed to be ‘stable’ in all women. The implications of intra-individual variation in RMR and its impact on energy balance needs further research.

Keywords

Resting metabolic rateIntra-individual variationMenstrual cycle
Type
Research Article
Information
British Journal of Nutrition , Volume 89 , Issue 6 , June 2003 , pp. 811 - 817
Copyright
Copyright © The Nutrition Society 2003

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