Energy expenditure in the performing arts.

摘要

Two papers in this issue of Medical Problems of Performing Artists examine energy expenditure while playing a wind instrument and dancing. Measurement of the amount of energy required to play an instrument, dance, or sing has been done in the past, but these two papers advance our understanding of how performing artists carry out their professional activities. Since most of us don't think about our daily lives in terms of METs or kilo-joules, I will first review some basic information about human energy intake and expenditure before examining how energy expenditure studies can expand our knowledge base.The energy that adults ingest every day as we eat food is used in one of three ways: some is turned into heat by the processes that go on in every cell regardless of activity level (commonly called the basal metabolic rate, BMR), most of the rest is used to move us around in various forms of physical activity, and if any is left over, it's stored as fat.