Quantification of energy expenditure in highland Ecuadorian women and men

Abstract

Indigenous agricultural populations of the Andes work long days at high altitude to maintain their subsistence lifestyle. The purpose of this study was to quantify total daily energy expenditure and assess nutritional status in a sample of semi-subsistence farmers of the Ecuadorian Andes. Dietary, anthropometric and activity data were collected on a sample of twenty-nine subjects (12 women and 17 men) from the Salcedo canton of Ecuador. Both women and men of this sample have high energy expenditure compared to other populations that have been assessed with the heart-rate monitor method (women 2495 kcals/day, men 4300 kcals/day). Women spend equal amounts of time and energy at home and in the field and retain an energy balance while men's high energy expenditure is not in balance with their caloric intake.