The use of accelerometers to improve estimation of the thermic effect of food in whole room calorimetry studies

Two research-grade accelerometers can effectively estimate spontaneous physical activity and improve the estimation of thermic effect of food (TEF) in whole room calorimeters. The activPAL demonstrates strong group-level accuracy and reasonable individual-level agreement in estimating wakeful TEF, whereas a hip-worn Actigraph is an acceptable approach for estimating 24-h TEF. These results highlight the promising potential of accelerometers in advancing energy balance research by improving the assessment of TEF within whole room calorimeters.