[Recent trends in estimating energy expenditures in Japan]

Estimating energy expenditures for daily activities has become an important issue in the promotion of individual health. From this point of view, the variety of estimation methods and their characteristics applied in many countries were surveyed. Then the essential bases used to estimate energy expenditures with the relative metabolic rate (RMR) method and the active energy expenditure rate (Ea) method, which were originally developed and used in Japan, were substituted for daily activities recorded by means of time study, and illustrated. Subsequently, a newly introduced method based on heart rate was explained with its variations and problems followed by practical reports on some populations in Japan. Methods using questionnaires or other devices were also described.