The Study
Total daily energy expenditure has declined over the last 3 decades due to declining basal expenditure not reduced activity expenditure.
This study looked at lots of people over many years and noticed that their bodies burned fewer calories at rest over time — but they weren’t moving less. It doesn’t prove that burning fewer calories caused weight gain, just that the two things happened together.
Analysis score
Maximum 44 for a cross-sectional study.
Where the score came from
People today burn fewer calories at rest than people did 30 years ago—even though they’re more active. This drop in resting calorie burn might be why obesity is rising, not because we’re sitting more.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 544 / 100
Quality score
Snapshots of a population at a single point in time, or descriptions of small groups. Can identify correlations and prevalence, but cannot determine cause and effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Yes—this means even if you eat the same amount, your body burns fewer calories just staying alive, so extra calories turn into fat more easily.
- 2Men burn 14.7% less energy at rest than in 1981; women burn 2% less (not significant).
- 3Activity levels went up in both sexes.
- 4This trend was seen in 100 years of data.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Nature metabolism
Year
2023
Authors
J. Speakman, Jasper M. A. de Jong, Srishti Sinha, K. Westerterp, Yosuke Yamada, Hiroyuki Sagayama, P. Ainslie, L. Anderson, L. Arab, K. Bedu-Addo, S. Blanc, A. Bonomi, P. Bovet, S. Brage, M. Buchowski, N. Butte, S. Camps, J. Cooper, R. Cooper, S. Das, P. Davies, L. Dugas, U. Ekelund, S. Entringer, Terrence Forrester, Barry W. Fudge, M. Gillingham, Santu Ghosh, A. Goris, M. Gurven, L. Halsey, C. Hambly, H. Haisma, Daniel Hoffman, Sumei Hu, A. Joosen, Jennifer L. Kaplan, P. Katzmarzyk, W. Kraus, R. Kushner, W. Leonard, Marie Löf, Corby K. Martin, Eric Matsiko, A. Medin, E. P. Meijer, M. Neuhouser, T. Nicklas, R. Ojiambo, K. Pietiläinen, J. Plange-Rhule, G. Plasqui, R. Prentice, S. Racette, D. Raichlen, E. Ravussin, L. Redman, S. Roberts, Michael C. Rudolph, L. Sardinha, A. Schuit, A. Silva, E. Stice, S. Urlacher, Giulio Valenti, Ludo M. Van Etten, Edgar A. Van Mil, B. Wood, J. Yanovski, T. Yoshida, Xueying Zhang, A. Murphy-Alford, C. Loechl, A. Kurpad, A. Luke, H. Pontzer, Matthew S. Rodeheffer, J. Rood, D. Schoeller, W. Wong
Related Content
Claims (5)
Over 30 years, basal energy expenditure in U.S. and European males decreased by 14.7% and in females by 2.0%, after accounting for differences in body composition and age. The larger decline in males fully accounts for the overall drop in daily energy use.
Over 30 years, total daily energy use dropped by 7.7% in men and 5.6% in women in the U.S. and Europe, even though physical activity increased, showing that resting metabolic rate declined and contributed to rising obesity rates.
Over the past 30 years, the amount of energy people burn through physical activity, after accounting for differences in body size and age, has gone up in both men and women in the United States and Europe.
Over the last 100 years, the rate at which the human body burns energy at rest has decreased in adults, even when accounting for differences in body size, age, and sex, based on data from thousands of people across more than 160 studies.
About 70% of the energy the body uses each day comes from basic life-sustaining processes, and significantly reducing calorie intake triggers biological changes that increase the likelihood of regaining lost weight.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.