American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol 33, 892-902, Copyright © 1980 by The American Society for Clinical Nutrition, Inc

ORIGINAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS

Energy expenditures and food intakes of lactating women in Guatemala

Y Schutz, A Lechtig and RB Bradfield

Total energy expenditures and intakes were simultaneously assessed in 18 free-ranging lactating women (10 months postpartum) and compared to six similarly-sized, nonlactating, nonpregnant but multiparous women living in the same rural villages in the Guatemalan highlands. Energy intakes were estimated by the 24-hr recall method for each of 4 consecutive days. Energy expenditures were determined for 2 days by monitoring heart rate throughout the day and relating heart rate to oxygen consumption by individually-determined regression lines. The mean energy intake for the 4 consecutive days was estimated to be 1929 +/- 360 kcal/day (39.2 kcal/kg per day) for the lactating group; and 1876 +/- 404 kcal/day (38.3 kcal/kg per day) for the nonlactating group. The 2-day mean energy expenditures were estimated to be 2007 +/- 292 kcal/day for the lactating women (41.8 kcal/kg per day) and 1966 +/- 382 kcal/day for the lactating women (40.1 kcal/kg per day). The way of life of both groups was judged "moderately active" by 1973 FAO/WHO classifications. Most of the lactating women had been losing weight progressively during the past 6 months. Over the 10-week period prior to our measurnth) (P less than 0.01) than in the nonlactating group (- 35 g/month) (ns). The high correlation (r = 0.87) between weight loss and the reduction in the sum of the three skinfolds suggested adipose tissue loss. There were no significant differences between the two groups in terms of daily energy intake, daily energy expenditure, the energy cost of specific activities throughout the day. The slope of the heart rate/oxygen consumption regressions suggest adequate cardiorespiratory fitness. This study suggests that the energy cost of lactation was met to a greater extent by fat loss than by either increased energy intake, reduced energy expenditure, or both.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				N. F. Butte, W. W. Wong, and J. M. Hopkinson Energy Requirements of Lactating Women Derived from Doubly Labeled Water and Milk Energy Output J. Nutr., January 1, 2001; 131(1): 53 - 58. [Abstract] [Full Text]

				N. F. Butte and J. M. Hopkinson Body Composition Changes during Lactation Are Highly Variable among Women J. Nutr., February 1, 1998; 128(2): 381 - 381. [Abstract] [Full Text]

				N. F. Butte, L. Barbosa, S. Villalpando, W. W. Wong, and E. O. Smith Total Energy Expenditure and Physical Activity Level of Lactating Mesoamerindians J. Nutr., February 1, 1997; 127(2): 299 - 305. [Abstract] [Full Text]

				U.E. MacIntyre and A R P Walker Lactation - How Important is it? The Journal of the Royal Society for the Promotion of Health, February 1, 1994; 114(1): 20 - 28. [Abstract] [PDF]

				W. Haldeman Can Magnesium Sulfate Therapy Impact Lactogenesis? J Hum Lact, December 1, 1993; 9(4): 249 - 252. [Abstract] [PDF]