Which of the following is a major limitation of indirect calorimetry?
Correspondingly, what is indirect calorimetry used for?
Indirect calorimetry (a type of whole body calorimetry where all gas consumption and gas exhalation are continuously monitored) can be used to determine energy expenditure through the use of equations relating total O2 consumption, CO2 expiration, and urinary nitrogen excretion to energy utilization.
Also to know, which of the following limitations are most likely to impact the accuracy of indirect calorimetry measurements?
The commonly encountered pitfalls in measurement of RQ[6] include air leaks in the respiratory circuit, extreme pain or agitation during the measurement, or recent procedures that affect gas exchange (e.g., hemodialysis). Under or overfeeding can also affect RQ as can the proportion of CHO and fat in the diet.
While direct calorimetry is achieved through direct measurement of total body heat produced, such as via a thermally sealed chamber, indirect calorimetry measures respiratory gases, i.e. oxygen (O2) and carbon dioxide (CO2) that are influenced by metabolism to meet energy requirements (Figure 1).