Energy expenditure and obesity across the economic spectrum
5
Issued Date
2025-07-22
Resource Type
eISSN
10916490
Scopus ID
2-s2.0-105011676621
Pubmed ID
40658837
Journal Title
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Volume
122
Issue
29
Rights Holder(s)
SCOPUS
Bibliographic Citation
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Vol.122 No.29 (2025) , e2420902122
Suggested Citation
McGrosky A., Luke A., Arab L., Bedu-Addo K., Bonomi A.G., Bovet P., Brage S., Buchowski M.S., Butte N., Camps S.G., Casper R., Cummings D.K., Das S.K., Deb S., Dugas L.R., Ekelund U., Forrester T., Fudge B.W., Gillingham M., Goris A.H., Gurven M., Hambly C., Joosen A., Katzmarzyk P.T., Kempen K.P., Kraus W.E., Kriengsinyos W., Kuriyan R., Kushner R.F., Lambert E.V., Larsson C.L., Leonard W.R., Lessan N., Löf M., Martin C.K., Medin A.C., Neuhouser M.L., Pietilainen K.H., Plasqui G., Prentice R.L., Racette S.B., Raichlen D.A., Ravussin E., Redman L., Reynolds R.M., Rimm E.B., Roberts S., Rosinger A.Y., Samuels M.H., Sinha S., Snodgrass J.J., Stice E., Uauy R., Urlacher S.S., Verbunt J.A., Wolfe B., Wood B., Zhang X., Murphy-Alford A.J., Loechl C.J., Rood J., Sagayama H., Schoeller D.A., Westerterp K.R., Wong W.W., Yamada Y., Speakman J.R., Pontzer H., Andersen L.F., Bandini L., Branth S., De Bruin N.C., Cooper R., Dutman A.E., Ebbeling C.B., Fogelholm M., Harris T., Heijligenberg R., Jorgensen H.U., Ludwig D.S., Matsiko E., McCloskey M., Meijer G.A., Pannemans D.L., Philippaerts R.M., Plange-Rhule J., Rothenberg E.M., Schulz S., Stunkard A., Subar A., Tanskanen M., Van den Berg-Emons R., van Etten L.M., Van Gemert W.G., Velthuis-Te Wierik E.J., Verboeket-Van de Venne W.W., Willett W.C. Energy expenditure and obesity across the economic spectrum. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Vol.122 No.29 (2025) , e2420902122. doi:10.1073/pnas.2420902122 Retrieved from: https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/123456789/111476
Title
Energy expenditure and obesity across the economic spectrum
Author(s)
McGrosky A.
Luke A.
Arab L.
Bedu-Addo K.
Bonomi A.G.
Bovet P.
Brage S.
Buchowski M.S.
Butte N.
Camps S.G.
Casper R.
Cummings D.K.
Das S.K.
Deb S.
Dugas L.R.
Ekelund U.
Forrester T.
Fudge B.W.
Gillingham M.
Goris A.H.
Gurven M.
Hambly C.
Joosen A.
Katzmarzyk P.T.
Kempen K.P.
Kraus W.E.
Kriengsinyos W.
Kuriyan R.
Kushner R.F.
Lambert E.V.
Larsson C.L.
Leonard W.R.
Lessan N.
Löf M.
Martin C.K.
Medin A.C.
Neuhouser M.L.
Pietilainen K.H.
Plasqui G.
Prentice R.L.
Racette S.B.
Raichlen D.A.
Ravussin E.
Redman L.
Reynolds R.M.
Rimm E.B.
Roberts S.
Rosinger A.Y.
Samuels M.H.
Sinha S.
Snodgrass J.J.
Stice E.
Uauy R.
Urlacher S.S.
Verbunt J.A.
Wolfe B.
Wood B.
Zhang X.
Murphy-Alford A.J.
Loechl C.J.
Rood J.
Sagayama H.
Schoeller D.A.
Westerterp K.R.
Wong W.W.
Yamada Y.
Speakman J.R.
Pontzer H.
Andersen L.F.
Bandini L.
Branth S.
De Bruin N.C.
Cooper R.
Dutman A.E.
Ebbeling C.B.
Fogelholm M.
Harris T.
Heijligenberg R.
Jorgensen H.U.
Ludwig D.S.
Matsiko E.
McCloskey M.
Meijer G.A.
Pannemans D.L.
Philippaerts R.M.
Plange-Rhule J.
Rothenberg E.M.
Schulz S.
Stunkard A.
Subar A.
Tanskanen M.
Van den Berg-Emons R.
van Etten L.M.
Van Gemert W.G.
Velthuis-Te Wierik E.J.
Verboeket-Van de Venne W.W.
Willett W.C.
Luke A.
Arab L.
Bedu-Addo K.
Bonomi A.G.
Bovet P.
Brage S.
Buchowski M.S.
Butte N.
Camps S.G.
Casper R.
Cummings D.K.
Das S.K.
Deb S.
Dugas L.R.
Ekelund U.
Forrester T.
Fudge B.W.
Gillingham M.
Goris A.H.
Gurven M.
Hambly C.
Joosen A.
Katzmarzyk P.T.
Kempen K.P.
Kraus W.E.
Kriengsinyos W.
Kuriyan R.
Kushner R.F.
Lambert E.V.
Larsson C.L.
Leonard W.R.
Lessan N.
Löf M.
Martin C.K.
Medin A.C.
Neuhouser M.L.
Pietilainen K.H.
Plasqui G.
Prentice R.L.
Racette S.B.
Raichlen D.A.
Ravussin E.
Redman L.
Reynolds R.M.
Rimm E.B.
Roberts S.
Rosinger A.Y.
Samuels M.H.
Sinha S.
Snodgrass J.J.
Stice E.
Uauy R.
Urlacher S.S.
Verbunt J.A.
Wolfe B.
Wood B.
Zhang X.
Murphy-Alford A.J.
Loechl C.J.
Rood J.
Sagayama H.
Schoeller D.A.
Westerterp K.R.
Wong W.W.
Yamada Y.
Speakman J.R.
Pontzer H.
Andersen L.F.
Bandini L.
Branth S.
De Bruin N.C.
Cooper R.
Dutman A.E.
Ebbeling C.B.
Fogelholm M.
Harris T.
Heijligenberg R.
Jorgensen H.U.
Ludwig D.S.
Matsiko E.
McCloskey M.
Meijer G.A.
Pannemans D.L.
Philippaerts R.M.
Plange-Rhule J.
Rothenberg E.M.
Schulz S.
Stunkard A.
Subar A.
Tanskanen M.
Van den Berg-Emons R.
van Etten L.M.
Van Gemert W.G.
Velthuis-Te Wierik E.J.
Verboeket-Van de Venne W.W.
Willett W.C.
Author's Affiliation
University of California, Los Angeles
Stanford University
Imperial College London
University of Wisconsin-Madison
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Pennsylvania State University
KU Leuven
Tohoku University
University of Southern California
Karolinska Institutet
Uppsala Universitet
Duke University
Universitetet i Oslo
University of Glasgow
Baylor College of Medicine
David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
Göteborgs Universitet
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
University of California, Santa Barbara
University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine
University of Tsukuba
Amsterdam UMC - University of Amsterdam
Oregon Health & Science University
Boston Children's Hospital
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Universiteit Maastricht
Universidad de Chile
University of Aberdeen
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Duke University School of Medicine
Mahidol University
University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School
University of Oregon
Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam
Helsinki University Hospital
Maastricht Universitair Medisch Centrum+
OHSU School of Medicine
University of Jyväskylä
Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth
Loyola University Chicago
Philips Research
Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology
Baylor University
Edinburgh Medical School
Graduate School of Medicine
School of Public Health
The University of the West Indies
Bispebjerg Hospital
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology
National University Health System
Universitetet i Agder
Anglia Ruskin University
Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town
Arizona State University Downtown Phoenix Campus
Pennington Biomedical Research Center
Chapman University
International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna
Max-Planck-Institut für Evolutionäre Anthropologie
Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging
University of Rwanda
St. John's National Academy Of Health Sciences India
Norges Idrettshøgskole
MRC Epidemiology Unit
Elon University
Centre Universitaire de Médecine Générale et Santé Publique, Lausanne
Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children
OnePlanet Research Center
TNO Quality of Life
Parkinson School of Health Sciences and Public Health
TNO Nutrition and Food Research Institute
Stanford University
Imperial College London
University of Wisconsin-Madison
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Pennsylvania State University
KU Leuven
Tohoku University
University of Southern California
Karolinska Institutet
Uppsala Universitet
Duke University
Universitetet i Oslo
University of Glasgow
Baylor College of Medicine
David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
Göteborgs Universitet
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
University of California, Santa Barbara
University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine
University of Tsukuba
Amsterdam UMC - University of Amsterdam
Oregon Health & Science University
Boston Children's Hospital
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Universiteit Maastricht
Universidad de Chile
University of Aberdeen
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Duke University School of Medicine
Mahidol University
University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School
University of Oregon
Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam
Helsinki University Hospital
Maastricht Universitair Medisch Centrum+
OHSU School of Medicine
University of Jyväskylä
Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth
Loyola University Chicago
Philips Research
Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology
Baylor University
Edinburgh Medical School
Graduate School of Medicine
School of Public Health
The University of the West Indies
Bispebjerg Hospital
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology
National University Health System
Universitetet i Agder
Anglia Ruskin University
Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town
Arizona State University Downtown Phoenix Campus
Pennington Biomedical Research Center
Chapman University
International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna
Max-Planck-Institut für Evolutionäre Anthropologie
Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging
University of Rwanda
St. John's National Academy Of Health Sciences India
Norges Idrettshøgskole
MRC Epidemiology Unit
Elon University
Centre Universitaire de Médecine Générale et Santé Publique, Lausanne
Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children
OnePlanet Research Center
TNO Quality of Life
Parkinson School of Health Sciences and Public Health
TNO Nutrition and Food Research Institute
Corresponding Author(s)
Other Contributor(s)
Abstract
Global economic development has been associated with an increased prevalence of obesity and related health problems. Increased caloric intake and reduced energy expenditure are both cited as development-related contributors to the obesity crisis, but their relative importance remains unresolved. Here, we examine energy expenditure and two measures of obesity (body fat percentage and body mass index, BMI) for 4,213 adults from 34 populations across six continents and a wide range of lifestyles and economies, including hunter-gatherer, pastoralist, farming, and industrialized populations. Economic development was positively associated with greater body mass, BMI, and body fat, but also with greater total, basal, and activity energy expenditure. Body size-adjusted total and basal energy expenditures both decreased approximately 6 to 11% with increasing economic development, but were highly variable among populations and did not correspond closely with lifestyle. Body size-adjusted total energy expenditure was negatively, but weakly, associated with measures of obesity, accounting for roughly one-tenth of the elevated body fat percentage and BMI associated with economic development. In contrast, estimated energy intake was greater in economically developed populations, and in populations with available data (n = 25), the percentage of ultraprocessed food in the diet was associated with body fat percentage, suggesting that dietary intake plays a far greater role than reduced energy expenditure in obesity related to economic development.