Minute ventilation as a measure of energy expenditure during exercise

¹ Defence Science Laboratory, Delhi, India

Studies were made on energy expenditure (E) and minute ventilation (MV) during performance of various military and other tasks by 58 subjects with 495 observations. The capacity for oxygen extraction varies between individuals depending on their physical development and working habits. It is suggested that for determining energy expenditure from minute ventilation, it is necessary to group the individuals on the basis of duty or occupation. For each group, a relationship has to be worked out between E and MV, after taking 16 observations on different subjects. This relationship (max. error ± 4.7%) can then be utilized for field surveys within that group without any further gas analyses. For Indian soldiers E = 0.215 x MV; for Indian Olympic hockey players E = 0.273 x MV.