The Relationship Between Activity Energy Expenditure and Body Composition in School-age Children

July 28, 2026 updated by: Huijuan Ruan

Obesity is increasing rapidly all over the world not only in adults but also among children. As a modifiable component of total energy expenditure (TEE) ,the amount of energy expended during physical activity plays an important role in preventing weight gain. Decreased physical activity, coupled with an over-consumption of calories, lead to the change of body composition by storing energy as fat.Although several studies have simultaneously examined body composition with energy expenditure the independent roles of body composition with activity energy expenditure (AEE) are less firmly established. It's suspected shrewdly that energy expenditure is partly influenced by the body composition. The aim of the study is to examine the relation of AEE with body composition in a population of school-age children.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Childhood Obesity

Detailed Description

Body composition (ie. FAT% and FFM) will be evaluated by means of bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) with Inbody 720 (Biospace, Seoul, South Korea). Anthropometric dimensions will be recorded for all participants according to standard procedures. Height will be recorded to the nearest 1.0mm by using a field stadiometer (Seca Corporation, Germany). FitMate metabolic system (Cosmed, Rome, Italy) will be used to estimate AEE. Subjects will be tested in a 10-minute submaximal exercise test using the FitMate systems while taking cycling test at 50 Watts on an electrically braked bicycle ergometer. Each subject will be connected to a calibrated respiratory gas analyzer, a portable metabolic analyzer designed for measurement of oxygen consumption during exercise via a face mask. Heart rate will be simultaneously measured with the use of a Cosmed wireless HR monitor to track the participant's heart rate level.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

China
- Shanghai Municipality
  - Shanghai, Shanghai Municipality, China, 200092
    - Xinhua Hospital

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

8 years to 18 years (Child, Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Children in Shanghai

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Children in Shanghai

Exclusion Criteria:

cardiovascular disease
asthma
severe disease conditions such as cancer and renal failure
taking steroids (corticosteroids) or antidepressants

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Time Perspectives: Cross-Sectional

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
body composition Time Frame: up to 30 days after participating in the study	Each participant will be weighted while wearing light clothing, after fasting for at least 4 hours and emptying the bladder. Body composition, such as body weight, fat mass(FM), fat percentage (FAT%) and free fat mass (FFM) will be measured by bioelectrical impedance analysis(BIA) with Inbody 720 (Biospace, Seoul, South Korea).Body composition measurement will be compared between the normal weight group and overweight/obesity group.	up to 30 days after participating in the study

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
activity energy expenditure (AEE) Time Frame: up to 30 days after participating in the study	Each participant will be asked to perform a cycling test to measure the AEE. Measurements will be recorded in the early afternoon. Total AEE (kcal) will be measured in the test. The exercise time will be adjusted by using the AEE (kcal/min), which was calculated as Total AEE/min. The weight-adjusted AEE (kcal/kg/min) will be calculated to facilitate comparisons between persons. AEE will be compared between the overweight/obesity group and normal weight group.	up to 30 days after participating in the study

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Huijuan Ruan

Investigators

Study Director: Qingya Tang, M.D., Xinhua Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

January 1, 2013

Primary Completion (Actual)

September 1, 2015

Study Completion (Actual)

January 1, 2016

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

April 3, 2014

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria