What Is Energy Expenditure?
Energy expenditure refers to the amount of energy a person uses daily to complete all bodily activities — from movement to breathing to digestion. It is measured in calories, a unit of heat, and is represented by the symbol kcal. Energy requirements can vary widely from person to person, and even from day to day in an individual. Total energy expenditure, also known as metabolic rate, is affected by such factors as amount of physical activity, number of hours spent sleeping, types of foods consumed, exposure to extreme temperatures, and amount of muscle mass a person carries.
