Accurately characterizing energy expenditure in individuals and populations is fundamental to understanding energy requirements, particularly in the context of chronic disease management, where metabolic alterations often impact energy balance. Recent advancements in measurement technologies, such as portable indirect calorimeters, allow for more precise assessments of energy expenditure, facilitating the development of more targeted and personalized nutrition interventions. This presentation will discuss insights from recent literature characterizing free-living energy expenditure across various chronic diseases and preliminary data from a Canada-wide survey on how registered dietitians currently approach, discuss, and utilize energy expenditure in clinical practice. This presentation will also highlight novel applications of portable calorimetry devices, including using respiratory quotient to assess disease severity and metabolic dysfunction and employing indirect calorimetry to evaluate diet adherence and enhance weight loss outcomes. By examining these innovations, this session will equip attendees with a deeper understanding of how emerging approaches can provide more accurate, individualized assessments of energy expenditure to enhance nutrition care and improve clinical outcomes in chronic disease.
Dr. Sarah Purcell is an Assistant Professor and Tier II Canada Research Chair in Nutrition and Energy Metabolism in Chronic Disease at the University of British Columbia Okanagan. Her research focuses on leveraging energy balance concepts to manage chronic diseases through evidence-based nutrition strategies. Specifically, her work aims to: 1. Utilize energy expenditure data to better define energy requirements and their determinants in individuals with chronic disease 2. Investigate how factors like weight loss, exercise, and ovarian sex hormones affect appetite, energy intake, and energy expenditure, with the goal of informing more effective health interventions 3. Translate research on energy expenditure into clinical practice Dr. Purcell’s laboratory employs a variety of advanced techniques to assess multiple aspects of energy balance, including doubly labeled water, body composition analysis, hormonal regulators of appetite, and diverse dietary intake measurement methods. Through collaboration with researchers, trainees, and health professionals, she seeks to improve health outcomes through targeted nutrition assessments and interventions.