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  • Letter to the Editor
  • Published:

Response to ‘Energy balance measurement: when something is not better than nothing’

International Journal of Obesity volume 39, pages 1175–1176 (2015)Cite this article

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We believe that the twin questions of whether self-report based estimates of energy intake (EI) and physical activity energy expenditure (PAEE) have sufficient validity to merit use in scientific research or should simply be abandoned are important ones that, for too long have been the elephant in the room. Therefore, we are delighted that Dr Frazier-Wood and Dr Satija and colleagues have come to the table to engage in scholarly dialogue on this topic. Here, we address the points they raise.

Dr Frazier-Wood endorses our remarks and we thank her.

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References

  1. Freedman LS, Commins JM, Moler JE, Arab L, Baer DJ, Kipnis V et al. Pooled results 75 from 5 validation studies of dietary self-report instruments using recovery biomarkers for 76 energy and protein intake. Am J Epidemiol 2014; 180: 172–188.

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Acknowledgements

Dr Allison, Dr Brown and Ms Jeansonne are supported in part by grant P30DK056336 from the National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. The opinions expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NIH or any other organization.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Nutritional Sciences, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, USA

    N V Dhurandhar

  2. Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Wisconsin—Madison, Madison, WI, USA

    D A Schoeller

  3. Nutrition Obesity Research Center & Office of Energetics, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA

    A W Brown

  4. Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Baton Rouge, LA, USA

    S B Heymsfield

  5. Department of Mathematical Sciences, Montclair State University, Montclair, NJ, USA

    D Thomas

  6. The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

    T I A Sørensen

  7. Institute of Preventive Medicine, Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg Hospitals—Part of Copenhagen University Hospital, The Capital Region, Copenhagen, Denmark

    T I A Sørensen

  8. Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Scotland, UK

    J R Speakman

  9. State key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

    J R Speakman

  10. Nutrition Obesity Research Center, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA

    M Jeansonne & D B Allison

  11. Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

    A Astrup

  12. Virginia Obesity Research Institute, Richmond, VA, USA

    R L Atkinson

  13. Department of Nutritional Sciences, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, USA

    M Binks

  14. Nutrition Medicine Harvard Medical School, Center for the Study of Nutrition Medicine Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA

    G Blackburn

  15. Faculty of Medicine and Health, Institute of Psychological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK

    J E Blundell

  16. Department of Food, Nutrition, and Packaging Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, USA

    M M B Brown

  17. Department of Health Sciences & Medicine, Bond Institute of Health and Sport, Bond University, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia

    N M Byrne

  18. Health, Behavior & Society, Medicine (GI), Human Nutrition, Public Health Studies, Johns Hopkins Weight Management Centerr, Rapid Response Project Core, Johns Hopkins Global Center on Childhood Obesity, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA

    L J Cheskin

  19. Department of Public Health Sciences, Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA

    R Cooper

  20. Department of Medicine, Obesity Research Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA

    B E Corkey

  21. Behavioral Medicine Research Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA

    J P Foreyt

  22. Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA

    P Franks

  23. Bariatric Medical Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

    Y Freedhoff

  24. Department of Childhood Obesity and Diabetes, USC Diabetes and Obesity Research Institute, Childhood Obesity Research Center (CORC), USC Keck School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    M Goran

  25. Department of Internal Medicine & Pediatrics, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA

    B C Hansen

  26. Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy for Children and Adolescents, Institute of the University of Duisburg-Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

    J Hebebrand

  27. Institute of Preventive Medicine, Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg Hospitals, Frederiksberg, Denmark

    B L Heitmann

  28. University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA

    J O Hill

  29. Allied Health Research – Maternity & Neonatology, Mater Mothers’ Hospital Director – Centre for Nutrition and Exercise, Mater Research - University of Queensland Conjoint Professorial appointment: Centre for Musculoskeletal Research, Griffith Health Institute, South Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

    A P Hills

  30. Department of Human Studies, School of Education and the Nutrition Obesity Research Center, Birmingham, AL, USA

    G R Hunter

  31. ConscienHealth, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    T Kyle

  32. Department of Nutrition and Psychology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA

    D A Levitsky

  33. Department of Public Health Sciences, Loyola University Chicago, Maywood, IL, USA

    A Luke

  34. Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, University of Nottingham Medical School, Nottingham, UK

    I Macdonald

  35. Computer Science Research Group, Aston University, Birmingham, UK

    R Matthews

  36. Department of Behavioral Science and Epidemiology, Department of Ingestive Behavior Laboratory, Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Baton Rouge, LA, USA

    C K Martin

  37. Department of International Health and Assistant Director, Global Obesity Prevention Center, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA

    A Y McDermott

  38. Behavioral Neuroscience Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA

    T Moran

  39. Department of Clinical Biochemistry and Medicine, University of Cambridge and Director, MRC Metabolic Diseases Unit, Cambridge, UK

    S O'Rahilly

  40. Department of Life and Reproduction Sciences, Verona University Medical School, Verona, Italy

    A Pietrobelli

  41. Karolinska Institutet, Apple Bay Obesity Research Centre, Bromma, Sweden

    S Rössner

  42. Department of Human Nutrition, NUTRIM School for Nutrition, Toxicology and Metabolism, Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht, The Netherlands

    W H M Saris

  43. Obesity Research & Management, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada

    A Sharma

  44. Department of Nutrition, University of California, Davis, CA, USA

    J Stern

  45. Diabetes and Metabolic Disorders, Universiteit Antwerpen, Antwerp, Belgium

    L V Gaal

  46. Department of Bioinformatics, National Institute of Statistical Science, Research Triangle Park, NC,a USA,

    S S Young

  47. Obesity and Body Composition Research Center, Chronic Disease Research Institute, Zhejiang University School of Public Health, School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China

    S Zhu

Authors
  1. N V Dhurandhar
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  2. D A Schoeller
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  3. A W Brown
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  4. S B Heymsfield
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  5. D Thomas
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  6. T I A Sørensen
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  7. J R Speakman
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  8. M Jeansonne
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  9. D B Allison
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Consortia

The Energy Balance Measurement Working Group

  • A Astrup
  • , R L Atkinson
  • , M Binks
  • , G Blackburn
  • , J E Blundell
  • , M M B Brown
  • , N M Byrne
  • , L J Cheskin
  • , R Cooper
  • , B E Corkey
  • , J P Foreyt
  • , P Franks
  • , Y Freedhoff
  • , M Goran
  • , B C Hansen
  • , J Hebebrand
  • , B L Heitmann
  • , J O Hill
  • , A P Hills
  • , G R Hunter
  • , T Kyle
  • , D A Levitsky
  • , A Luke
  • , I Macdonald
  • , R Matthews
  • , C K Martin
  • , A Y McDermott
  • , T Moran
  • , S O'Rahilly
  • , A Pietrobelli
  • , S Rössner
  • , W H M Saris
  • , A Sharma
  • , J Stern
  • , L V Gaal
  • , S S Young
  •  & S Zhu

Corresponding author

Correspondence to D B Allison.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

Dr Schoeller reports a patent, methods of determining energy balance using breath carbon isotope ratios, pending. The remaining authors declare no conflict of interest.

Additional information

The ‘Energy Balance Measurement Working Group’ members listed alphabetically are as follows: A Astrup12, RL Atkinson13, M Binks14, G Blackburn15, JE Blundell16, MMB Brown17, NM Byrne18, LJ Cheskin19, R Cooper20, BE Corkey21, JP Foreyt22, P Franks23, Y Freedhoff24, M Goran25, BC Hansen26, J Hebebrand27, BL Heitmann28, JO Hill29, AP Hills30, GR Hunter31, T Kyle32, DA Levitsky33, A Luke34, I Macdonald35, R Matthews36, CK Martin37, AY McDermott38, T Moran39, S O’Rahilly40, A Pietrobelli41, S Rössner42, WHM Saris43, A Sharma44, J Stern45, LV Gaal46, SS Young47, S Zhu48 12Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; 13Virginia Obesity Research Institute, Richmond, VA, USA; 14Department of Nutritional Sciences, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, USA; 15Nutrition Medicine Harvard Medical School, Center for the Study of Nutrition Medicine Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA; 16Faculty of Medicine and Health, Institute of Psychological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK; 17Department of Food, Nutrition, and Packaging Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, USA; 18Department of Health Sciences & Medicine, Bond Institute of Health and Sport, Bond University, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia; 19Health, Behavior & Society, Medicine (GI), Human Nutrition, Public Health Studies, Johns Hopkins Weight Management Centerr, Rapid Response Project Core, Johns Hopkins Global Center on Childhood Obesity, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA; 20Department of Public Health Sciences, Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA; 21Department of Medicine, Obesity Research Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA; 22Behavioral Medicine Research Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA; 23Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA; 24Bariatric Medical Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; 25Department of Childhood Obesity and Diabetes, USC Diabetes and Obesity Research Institute, Childhood Obesity Research Center (CORC), USC Keck School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, USA; 26Department of Internal Medicine & Pediatrics, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA; 27Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy for Children and Adolescents, Institute of the University of Duisburg-Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany; 28Institute of Preventive Medicine, Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg Hospitals, Frederiksberg, Denmark; 29University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA; 30Allied Health Research – Maternity & Neonatology, Mater Mothers’ Hospital Director – Centre for Nutrition and Exercise, Mater Research - University of Queensland Conjoint Professorial appointment: Centre for Musculoskeletal Research, Griffith Health Institute, South Brisbane, Queensland, Australia; 31Department of Human Studies, School of Education and the Nutrition Obesity Research Center, Birmingham, AL, USA; 32ConscienHealth, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; 33Department of Nutrition and Psychology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA; 34Department of Public Health Sciences, Loyola University Chicago, Maywood, IL, USA; 35Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, University of Nottingham Medical School, Nottingham, UK; 36Computer Science Research Group, Aston University, Birmingham, UK; 37Department of Behavioral Science and Epidemiology, Department of Ingestive Behavior Laboratory, Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Baton Rouge, LA, USA; 38Department of International Health and Assistant Director, Global Obesity Prevention Center, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA; 39Behavioral Neuroscience Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; 40Department of Clinical Biochemistry and Medicine, University of Cambridge and Director, MRC Metabolic Diseases Unit, Cambridge, UK; 41Department of Life and Reproduction Sciences, Verona University Medical School, Verona, Italy; 42Karolinska Institutet, Apple Bay Obesity Research Centre, Bromma, Sweden; 43Department of Human Nutrition, NUTRIM School for Nutrition, Toxicology and Metabolism, Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht, The Netherlands; 44Obesity Research & Management, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada; 45Department of Nutrition, University of California, Davis, CA, USA; 46Diabetes and Metabolic Disorders, Universiteit Antwerpen, Antwerp, Belgium; 47Department of Bioinformatics, National Institute of Statistical Science, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA; 48Obesity and Body Composition Research Center, Chronic Disease Research Institute, Zhejiang University School of Public Health, School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China

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Dhurandhar, N., Schoeller, D., Brown, A. et al. Response to ‘Energy balance measurement: when something is not better than nothing’. Int J Obes 39, 1175–1176 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2015.81

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2015.81

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