Body Composition and Energy Intake— Skeletal Muscle Mass is the Strongest Predictor of Food Intake in Obese Adolescents: The HEARTY Trial

Purpose: There has been renewed interest in examining the relationship between specific components of energy expenditure and the overall influence on energy intake (EI). The purpose of this cross-sectional analysis was to determine the strongest metabolic and anthropometric predictors of EI. It was hypothesized that resting metabolic rate (RMR) and skeletal muscle mass would be the strongest predictors of EI in a sample of overweight and obese adolescents. Methods: 304 post-pubertal adolescents (90 boys, 217 girls) aged 16.1 (±1.4) years with body mass index at or above the 95th percentile for age and sex OR at or above the 85th percentile plus an additional diabetes risk factor were measured for body weight, RMR (kcal/day) by indirect calorimetry, body composition by magnetic resonance imaging (fat free mass [FFM], skeletal muscle mass, fat mass [FM], and %body fat), and EI (kcal/day) using 3-day food records. Results: Body weight, RMR, FFM, skeletal muscle mass, and FM were all significantly correlated with EI (pThe accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author