TY - JOUR T1 - Free-living energy expenditure and behaviour in late infancy JF - Archives of Disease in Childhood JO - Arch Dis Child SP - 490 LP - 494 DO - 10.1136/adc.76.6.490 VL - 76 IS - 6 AU - J C K Wells AU - A Hinds AU - P S W Davies Y1 - 1997/06/01 UR - http://adc.bmj.com/content/76/6/490.abstract N2 - OBJECTIVES The energy requirements of infants are determined by body size, growth rate, and physical activity. Little is known of the determinants of energy expended on activity. The relation between free-living energy expenditure and behaviour was investigated in infants aged 9 and 12 months. METHODS Total energy expenditure (TEE) was estimated by the doubly labelled water method and fat free mass was estimated from the 18O dilution space. Behaviour was assessed by two 24 hour activity diaries. SUBJECTS Thirty four normal healthy infants. RESULTS TEE was negatively related to the time spent feeding and negatively related to the time spent upset. Body size, represented by fat free mass, accounted for only 19% of the variation in TEE, whereas the combination of fat free mass and two behavioural variables explained 46% of the variation in TEE. CONCLUSIONS Behaviour contributed significantly to TEE. The energy requirements of individual subjects in this age group cannot be predicted with accuracy from body size alone. ER -