Benefits for Investigators and Collaborations
The Energy Metabolism Unit at the Children's Nutrition Research Center supports and promotes novel investigation related to nutrition and energy metabolism. The unit is equipped with a suite of four metabolic chambers (whole room indirect calorimeters), an infant calorimeter and an exercise laboratory. A highly specialized team supports this unique research infrastructure for conducting nutrition and energy metabolism studies across the lifespan.
The whole room indirect calorimeters allow minute to minute measures of oxygen uptake (VO2) and carbon dioxide production (VCO2) to provide measurements of the following:
- Sleeping and Basal metabolic rates
- 24-hour total energy expenditure
- Substrate oxidation
- Exercise energy expenditure (e.g., biking, walking, running, aerobics, or video game play).
Other Unit Services
- Use of the doubly labeled water method to evaluate free-living energy metabolism.
- Use and calibration of activity and sleep monitors.