Metabolic Equivalents (METS)
Original Editor - Sonal Joshi
Top Contributors - Sonal Joshi, Rachael Lowe and Vidya Acharya
Introduction
Metabolic Equivalents (METs) is a simple, easily applicable procedure to express energy cost of physical activity. It is the measure of oxygen (O2) consumption at rest. METs also indicate the Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) of an individual at rest[1].
Calculation
A single MET is defined as 3.5 ml O2 per kg body weight per minute. The energy cost in METs is expressed as multiple of this resting value[1].
eg. An individual with an activity requiring 14 ml O2/kg/min would be 4 METs.
Application and Uses
Research
- Epidemiological Research: METs are used in research largely to assess physical activity levels and their relation to health outcomes, for eg. physical fitness in female nurses in Japan [2]
- Exercise Prescription & Guidelines: It can be used as a objective measure of individual exercise capacity and change in functional capacity in response to an exercise protocol[1]
Clinical Practice
- Occupational/Activities of daily living (ADL) Assessment: MET values are assigned to various occupational and daily activities [3][4]. This helps understand basic activity level of a person & use exercise to progress it to level accordingly required for a required goal ADL or occupational task.
- Outcome Measure : It has been used as a patient based outcome measure in clinical settings for eg. after hip arthroplasty[5].
- Exercise Testing and Prescription: They describe functional capacity and exercise capacity of an individual at base level and on reassessment after exercise protocol. It acts as a guiding outcome measure for safe participation in physical activities without crossing the prescribed intensity levels[1].
Limitations
- The MET value is found to be variable with respect to different populations. The standard 1 MET value was found to be more than the actual resting metabolic rate for individuals such as females, active males, adolescents and older women. Baseline MET values were researched to be influenced by body composition and age[6][7][8].
- MET values can differ for the standard mentioned values, For eg. MET value for a common household activity may differ for older adults than younger adults[7].
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Jetté M, Sidney K, Blümchen G. Metabolic equivalents (METS) in exercise testing, exercise prescription, and evaluation of functional capacity. Clinical cardiology. 1990 Aug;13(8):555-65.
- ↑ Ideno Y, Hayashi K, Lee JS, Miyazaki Y, Suzuki S. A proper reference metabolic equivalent value to assess physical activity intensity in Japanese female nurses. Women's Midlife Health. 2019 Dec;5:1-9.
- ↑ Tudor-Locke C, Ainsworth BE, Washington TL, Troiano R. Assigning metabolic equivalent values to the 2002 census occupational classification system. Journal of Physical Activity and Health. 2011 May 1;8(4):581-6.
- ↑ Aguilar-Farias N, Brown WJ, Skinner TL, Peeters GM. Metabolic equivalent values of common daily activities in middle-age and older adults in free-living environments: a pilot study. J Phys Act Health. 2019 Mar 1;16(3):222-9.
- ↑ Edwards TC, Guest B, Garner A, Logishetty K, Liddle AD, Cobb JP. The metabolic equivalent of task score: a useful metric for comparing high-functioning hip arthroplasty patients. Bone & Joint Research. 2022 May 23;11(5):317-26.
- ↑ Byrne NM, Hills AP, Hunter GR, Weinsier RL, Schutz Y. Metabolic equivalent: one size does not fit all. Journal of Applied physiology. 2005 Sep 1.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Aguilar-Farias N, Brown WJ, Skinner TL, Peeters GM. Metabolic equivalent values of common daily activities in middle-age and older adults in free-living environments: a pilot study. J Phys Act Health. 2019 Mar 1;16(3):222-9.
- ↑ Melzer K, Heydenreich J, Schutz Y, Renaud A, Kayser B, Mäder U. Metabolic equivalent in adolescents, active adults and pregnant women. Nutrients. 2016 Jul 20;8(7):438.