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. 2024 May;12(10):e16023.
doi: 10.14814/phy2.16023.

Treadmill walking economy is not affected by body fat and body mass index in adults

Wesley J Tucker  1   2 , Brandon J Sawyer  3 , Dharini M Bhammar  4 , Emma W Ware  1 , Siddhartha S Angadi  5 , Glenn A Gaesser  6
Affiliations

Treadmill walking economy is not affected by body fat and body mass index in adults

Wesley J Tucker et al. Physiol Rep. 2024 May.

Abstract

To determine whether body fat and body mass index (BMI) affect the energy cost of walking (Cw; J/kg/m), ventilation, and gas exchange data from 205 adults (115 females; percent body fat range = 3.0%-52.8%; BMI range = 17.5-43.2 kg/m2) were obtained at rest and during treadmill walking at 1.34 m/s to calculate gross and net Cw. Linear regression was used to assess relationships between body composition indices, Cw, and standing metabolic rate (SMR). Unpaired t-tests were used to assess differences between sex, and one-way ANOVA was used to assess differences by BMI categories: normal weight, <25.0 kg/m2; overweight, 25.0-29.9 km/m2; and obese, ≥30 kg/m2. Net Cw was not related to body fat percent, fat mass, or BMI (all R2 ≤ 0.011). Furthermore, mean net Cw was similar by sex (male: 2.19 ± 0.30 J/kg/m; female: 2.24 ± 0.37 J/kg/m, p = 0.35) and across BMI categories (normal weight: 2.23 ± 0.36 J/kg/m; overweight: 2.18 ± 0.33 J/kg/m; obese: 2.26 ± 0.31, p = 0.54). Gross Cw and SMR were inversely associated with percent body fat, fat mass, and BMI (all R2 between 0.033 and 0.270; all p ≤ 0.008). In conclusion, Net Cw is not influenced by body fat percentage, total body fat, and BMI and does not differ by sex.

Keywords: adiposity; body mass index; energy cost of walking; metabolic rate; obesity.

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Conflict of interest statement

No conflicts of interest, financial or otherwise, are declared by the authors.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Net metabolic cost (Cw) (J/kg/m) during walking at 1.34 m/s versus percent body fat (a), body fat mass (b), body mass index (BMI) (c), and fat‐free mass (d). n = 205. Filled circles indicate males and open circles indicate females.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Gross metabolic cost (Cw) (J/kg/m) during walking at 1.34 m/s versus percent body fat (a), body fat mass (b), body mass index (BMI) (c), and fat‐free mass (d). n = 205. Filled circles indicate males and open circles indicate females.
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Standing metabolic rate (SMR) (W/kg) versus percent body fat (a), body fat mass (b), body mass index (BMI) (c), and fat‐free mass (d). n = 205. Filled circles indicate males and open circles indicate females.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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