The American journal of clinical nutrition
-
Previous studies assessed the influence of parental weight status, sexual maturation, race-ethnicity, and energy expenditure among children, but few examined these issues comprehensively. ⋯ Differences in resting metabolic rate and total energy expenditure among premenarcheal girls were associated with parental weight status and the girls' race-ethnicity, whereas differences in nonresting energy expenditure were associated with pubertal stage and race-ethnicity. Whether the observed differences in energy expenditure persist after puberty and predict weight gain during puberty awaits the results of longitudinal analyses.