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. 2021 Jul 5;114(4):1396–1407. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/nqab209

TABLE 2.

Clinical characteristics of the study cohort1

Characteristic Total (n = 77) Spendthrift (n = 38) Thrifty (n = 39) P value
Male, n (%) 63 (81.8) 31 (81.6) 32 (82.1) 0.96
Ethnicity, n (%) 0.43
 African American 18 (23.4) 11 (29.0) 7 (18.0)
 Caucasian 26 (33.8) 10 (26.3) 16 (41.0)
 Native American 23 (29.9) 11 (29.0) 12 (30.8)
 Hispanic 10 (13.0) 6 (15.8) 4 (10.3)
Age, y 37.2 ± 10.2 (18, 55) 36.7 ± 10.2 (18, 55) 37.7 ± 10.3 (19, 53) 0.66
Body composition measures
 Height, cm 173 ± 8 (157, 196) 173 ± 8 (157, 196) 172 ± 7 (157, 185) 0.54
 Body weight, kg 78.9 ± 14.1 (47.5, 127.1) 79 ± 14 (56, 127.1) 78.9 ± 14.3 (47.5, 107.8) 0.97
 BMI, kg/m2 26.4 ± 4.3 (17.8, 44) 26.3 ± 4.2 (20.6, 44) 26.5 ± 4.5 (17.8, 39.1) 0.77
 Body fat, % 27.7 ± 9.4 (6.9, 53.8) 27.7 ± 11.2 (7.3, 53.8) 27.6 ± 7.5 (6.9, 52.8) 0.96
 FM, kg 22.4 ± 10.2 (4.9, 56.9) 22.5 ± 11.4 (4.9, 54.1) 22.2 ± 9.1 (5.9, 56.9) 0.88
 FFM, kg 56.6 ± 9.7 (33.9, 79.4) 56.4 ± 9.7 (34.2, 77) 56.7 ± 9.9 (33.9, 79.4) 0.91
Energy expenditure measures during energy balance
 RQ, ratio 0.86 ± 0.04 (0.76, 1.02) 0.87 ± 0.03 (0.8, 0.94) 0.86 ± 0.04 (0.76, 1.02) 0.47
 24EE, kcal/d 2015 ± 306 (1427, 2810) 1960 ± 308 (1502, 2810) 2070 ± 299 (1427, 2732) 0.11
 Adjusted 24EE,2 kcal/d 2015 ± 125 (1676, 2232) 1960 ± 123 (1676, 2212) 2070 ± 103 (1837, 2232) <0.0001
 SLEEP, kcal/d 1594 ± 246 (1131, 2303) 1539 ± 220 (1193, 2227) 1649 ± 261 (1131, 2303) 0.049
 Adjusted SLEEP,2 kcal/d 1594 ± 113 (1355, 1892) 1548 ± 93 (1355, 1730) 1640 ± 113 (1446, 1892) 0.0002
 EE0, kcal/15 h 1339 ± 203 (969, 1930) 1310 ± 213 (1025, 1930) 1366 ± 191 (969, 1733) 0.22
 Adjusted EE0,2 kcal/15 h 1339 ± 88 (1123, 1520) 1309 ± 92 (1123, 1520) 1367 ± 74 (1197, 1509) 0.003
 AFT, kcal/15 h 343 ± 103 (145, 624) 349 ± 110 (171, 624) 337 ± 97 (145, 557) 0.62
 Adjusted AFT,2 kcal/15 h 343 ± 83 (181, 553) 343 ± 81 (208, 553) 342 ± 86 (181, 503) 0.96
 SPA, % of time 5.9 ± 3.4 (0.7, 16.4) 6.3 ± 3.9 (1.2, 16.4) 5.6 ± 2.7 (0.7, 15.5) 0.41
 24-h energy intake, kcal/d 2051 ± 304 (1512, 2921) 2008 ± 313 (1529, 2921) 2092 ± 293 (1512, 2709) 0.23
 Energy balance, % 1.9 ± 4.3 (7.3, 19.7) 2.6 ± 4.1 (3.8, 19.7) 1.2 ± 4.5 (7.3, 16.4) 0.17
Energy expenditure measures during 24-h fasting
 RQ, ratio 0.79 ± 0.03 (0.71, 0.9) 0.79 ± 0.03 (0.73, 0.88) 0.79 ± 0.03 (0.71, 0.9) 0.88
 24EE, kcal/d 1851 ± 261 (1287, 2655) 1858 ± 275 (1429, 2655) 1845 ± 249 (1287, 2390) 0.82
 Adjusted 24EE,2 kcal/d 1851 ± 105 (1619, 2103) 1869 ± 107 (1639, 2103) 1834 ± 100 (1619, 2051) 0.14
 Δ adjusted 24EE fromenergy balance tofasting,2 kcal/d −164 ± 89 (−376, 104) −91 ± 59 (−177, 104) −236 ± 44 (−376, −178) <0.0001
 SPA, % of time 5.5 ± 3.2 (0.4, 18.3) 5.4 ± 3.5 (1.1, 18.3) 5.5 ± 3 (0.4, 12.7) 0.88
1

Values are presented as mean ± SD (minimum, maximum) unless otherwise indicated. Classification of participants into the spendthrift or thrifty metabolic group was based on the median value of decrease in adjusted 24EE from energy balance during 24-h fasting (−177 kcal/d), such that thrifty participants were those with a greater-than-median decrease in 24EE. Differences between thrifty and spendthrift metabolic groups were assessed by Student unpaired t test for continuous variables and by χ2 test for categorical variables.

2

Adjusted 24-h energy expenditure was calculated by adding the average value calculated in the whole cohort to the residual values obtained from linear regression analysis with covariates age, sex, ethnicity, FM, FFM, SPA, ambient temperature, and calorimeter room. AFT, awake-fed thermogenesis; EE0, EE in the inactive, awake state; FM, fat mass; FFM, fat-free mass; RQ, respiratory quotient; SLEEP, sleeping metabolic rate; SPA, spontaneous physical activity; 24EE, 24-h energy expenditure.