The energy cost of common daily activities in African women: increased expenditure in pregnancy?

A total of 1546 measurements of energy expenditure were performed by open-circuit indirect calorimetry on 142 nonpregnant pregnant or lactating Gambian village women. Of the 47 common daily activities measured only 7 would be classified as moderate according to internationally accepted standards the remainder being light (requiring less than 3.5 kcal/min). The 7 moderate activities are: walking with a load standing pounding grain walking and bending clearing fields standing digging with a short-handled hoe standing digging with a long-handled hoe standing covering rice seed after sowing and bending harvesting groundnuts with a spade. The 47 activities were classified into 3 groups: basic activities home activities and field activities. Judged subjectively many of the tasks had seemed demanding. There was no increase towards the end of pregnancy in the energy cost of a range of activities requiring 1-5 kcal/min and involving a variety of body movements despite the substantial weight gains observed. Only for walking was there the expected increase in energy expenditure. Although in the past it has been assumed that the heavier pregnant women would require additional energy for activity no special allowance for this is included in current dietary recommendations. The present results indicate that for women from the developing world no allowance is necessary. The finding that most activities were light is also of relevance to total energy requirements in this community.