New US Obesity Numbers

[TanyaRD]

AA,
I don't know how rural your area is but if you happen to be near a larger medical center it might be interesting to see if their dietitians have a indirect calorimeter (MedGem is a common portable brand). We have many calorie/energy equations to estimate nutritional needs but they are really just an educated guess. Indirect calorimetry is the gold standard for evaluating energy expenditure/needs. It is often used in the critical care setting for artificial nutrition support but since portable machines have become available it has been used in other settings. Another thing that would be interesting is Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA) which evaluates body composition in % lean body mass, fat and fluid. I have a BIA machine at the cancer center where I work and have found it useful from time to time when someone is making a major change in diet/exercise or when we are having trouble with weight management (usually too much wt loss) to evaluate caloric needs in a different way. IC would be better for calorie estimation but either one gives some insight.

It is starting to cool down and become wet here in Northern MI too. Treadmill-here I come =)