Metabolism Review

Evidence map

Metabolic rate: what the evidence base looks like

9 publications, 4 of them trials and 4 syntheses. This page describes the shape of that literature rather than summarising its conclusions.

Updated 4 min read 9 citations

What the evidence on metabolic rate is made of Of 9 publications on this topic, the breakdown by study type: 4 meta-analysis, 4 randomised trial, 1 other. 441meta-analysis (4)randomised trial (4)other (1)
9 publications, by study type. Volume is not strength — the same count can be a settled question or a pile of commentary, and which one it is depends almost entirely on this breakdown. Harvested from PubMed and Crossref; publication type as recorded by the source.

What this literature is made of

The synthesis is ahead of the primary literature here — reviews and meta-analyses drawing on a modest number of underlying studies. Treat confident conclusions with the caution the sample size deserves.

The distinction that matters most is between synthesis and primary research. A meta-analysis pools trials and is the closest thing to a settled answer a field produces. A narrative review is one group's reading of the same material and can be selective without being dishonest. Counting them together, which most citation counts do, obscures exactly the thing you want to know.

When the metabolic rate literature was published Publication years for the 9 papers on this topic, grouped into bands from before 2015 through to 2023 onwards. 2023 onwards3 papers2015-20193 papersBefore 20153 papers
Still active. The most recent paper here is from 2024, so this is a field where an answer written today may not hold for long. Publication years as recorded by PubMed and Crossref.

How this page is built

Everything above is computed from the citations this site harvested from PubMed and Crossref, not written by hand. When the weekly harvest finds a new paper on this topic, these counts change and the characterisation changes with them. That is the point: a hand-written claim about how strong an evidence base is starts decaying the day it is written.

Publication type is taken as the source records it. That is imperfect — journals label inconsistently, and a paper indexed as a "review" may be a systematic one — so treat the bands as approximate. They are accurate enough to distinguish a trial literature from a commentary literature, which is the distinction that matters.

The strongest work on this topic

Ordered by study design first, then recency. The full set is listed in the references below.

  1. Accuracy of Resting Metabolic Rate Prediction Equations in Athletes: A Systematic Review with Meta-analysis — O'Neill JER, Corish CA, Horner K, 2023, meta-analysis
  2. Physical activity and incident type 2 diabetes mellitus: a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies — Smith AD, Crippa A, Woodcock J et al., 2016, meta-analysis
  3. Best practice methods to apply to measurement of resting metabolic rate in adults: a systematic review — Compher C, Frankenfield D, Keim N et al., 2006, systematic review
  4. Comparison of predictive equations for resting metabolic rate in healthy nonobese and obese adults: a systematic review — Frankenfield D, Roth-Yousey L, Compher C, 2005, systematic review
  5. The effect of nutrition education sessions on energy availability, body composition, eating attitude and sports nutrition knowledge in young female endurance athletes — Tektunalı Akman C, Gönen Aydın C, Ersoy G, 2024, randomised controlled trial
  6. Low energy availability reduces myofibrillar and sarcoplasmic muscle protein synthesis in trained females — Oxfeldt M, Phillips SM, Andersen OE et al., 2023, randomised controlled trial
  7. Influence of sleep restriction on weight loss outcomes associated with caloric restriction — Wang X, Sparks JR, Bowyer KP et al., 2018, randomised controlled trial
  8. A 2-Year Randomized Controlled Trial of Human Caloric Restriction: Feasibility and Effects on Predictors of Health Span and Longevity — Ravussin E, Redman LM, Rochon J et al., 2015, randomised controlled trial
  9. Compendium of physical activities: an update of activity codes and MET intensities — Ainsworth BE, Haskell WL, Whitt MC et al., 2000, journal article
How much research is there on metabolic rate?
9 publications are indexed here, of which 4 are trials and 4 are syntheses.
Does more research mean a stronger conclusion?
No. Composition matters more than volume — five randomised trials support a claim far better than fifty commentaries, and citation counts do not distinguish between them.
How current is this?
The most recent paper indexed here is from 2024. The set is refreshed weekly from PubMed and Crossref.
Why does this page not tell me the answer?
Because summarising a literature into a conclusion requires reading it, and doing that automatically is how confident nonsense gets published. This page tells you how much weight a conclusion could bear; the articles on this site do the interpreting.

References

Every citation below links to the original peer-reviewed record on PubMed or via DOI. Nothing here is a substitute for medical advice.

  1. Accuracy of Resting Metabolic Rate Prediction Equations in Athletes: A Systematic Review with Meta-analysis O'Neill JER, Corish CA, Horner K · Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2023 · Meta-analysis DOIPubMed 37632665Full text
  2. Physical activity and incident type 2 diabetes mellitus: a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies Smith AD, Crippa A, Woodcock J, et al. · Diabetologia · 2016 · Meta-analysis DOIPubMed 27747395Full text
  3. Best practice methods to apply to measurement of resting metabolic rate in adults: a systematic review Compher C, Frankenfield D, Keim N, et al. · Journal of the American Dietetic Association · 2006 · Systematic review DOIPubMed 16720129
  4. Comparison of predictive equations for resting metabolic rate in healthy nonobese and obese adults: a systematic review Frankenfield D, Roth-Yousey L, Compher C · Journal of the American Dietetic Association · 2005 · Systematic review DOIPubMed 15883556
  5. The effect of nutrition education sessions on energy availability, body composition, eating attitude and sports nutrition knowledge in young female endurance athletes Tektunalı Akman C, Gönen Aydın C, Ersoy G · Frontiers in public health · 2024 · Randomised controlled trial DOIPubMed 38550312Full text
  6. Low energy availability reduces myofibrillar and sarcoplasmic muscle protein synthesis in trained females Oxfeldt M, Phillips SM, Andersen OE, et al. · The Journal of physiology · 2023 · Randomised controlled trial DOIPubMed 37329147
  7. Influence of sleep restriction on weight loss outcomes associated with caloric restriction Wang X, Sparks JR, Bowyer KP, et al. · Sleep · 2018 · Randomised controlled trial DOIPubMed 29438540Full text
  8. A 2-Year Randomized Controlled Trial of Human Caloric Restriction: Feasibility and Effects on Predictors of Health Span and Longevity Ravussin E, Redman LM, Rochon J, et al. · The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences · 2015 · Randomised controlled trial DOIPubMed 26187233Full text
  9. Compendium of physical activities: an update of activity codes and MET intensities Ainsworth BE, Haskell WL, Whitt MC, et al. · Medicine and science in sports and exercise · 2000 · Journal article DOIPubMed 10993420