24 Hour Total Energy Expenditure Calculation Using Android Application: “24 ARM-Activity Recall Method”

Abstract

Malnutrition refers to deficiencies, excesses or imbalances in a person’s intake of energy and/or nutrients and can be the ground for both communicable and Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs). Nutrition is essential and Energy Expenditure (EE) assessment in an individual’s daily routine is the key to it as both under nutrition and over nutrition are detrimental. Currently, an individual is categorised as having sedentary behaviour or light/ moderate/ vigorous intensity activities based on the Metabolic Equivalents (METs) and duration of activity. MET values for the same are given for the activity as such but using this to classify an individual sedentary or moderate or a vigorous worker is not appropriate especially when duration of activity is less than 10 minutes. As there is no single effective tool available to calculate Total Energy Expenditure (TEE), we developed a simple android application based 24 hour Activity Recall Method abbreviated as “24 ARM” to calculate TEE along with its 3 components (Resting Energy Expenditure (REE), Activity Energy Expenditure (AEE) and Diet Induced Thermogenesis (DIT)) and results can be shared with other persons also.