A REEXAMINATION OF BASAL METABOLIC-RATE PREDICTIVE EQUATIONS - THE IMPORTANCE OF GEOGRAPHIC ORIGIN OF SUBJECTS IN SAMPLE SELECTION

Objective: The study of geographic differences in basal metabolic rate (BMR). Design: A retrospective analysis of two large BMR databases, n amely those of Schofield et al. (1985; Hum. Nutr.: Clin. Nutr. 39C, Su ppl. 1, 5-41) and Henry and Rees (1988; Comparative nutrition, pp. 149 -159. Subjects: The pooled database from the above sources comprised 7 737 individual measurements. The largest sub-set of males and females were the 18-30-year-olds (n = 2999 and n = 874 respectively), this gro up was selected for analysis. Intervention: Least-squares linear regre ssion equations were derived for groups of subjects according to the m ost common geographic regions represented in the data (North Europeans and Americans, Italians, Indians and Chinese). The method of Rees and Henry (1988) was used to compare these equations over a range of body weights. Results: Regression equations for Italian males and females were significantly greater than other groups over almost the entire bo dy weight range tested. Conclusions: Italian subjects comprise 45% of the Schofield et al. (1985) database which may therefore be biased and in need of reassessment.