Biggest Loser implements MedGem indirect calorimeter to assess metabolic changes in program contestants

Jan 7 2010

Microlife Medical Home Solutions, Inc. (MiMHS) announces The Biggest Loser medical staff will implement the MedGem indirect calorimeter to assess metabolic changes in program contestants. The MedGem handheld indirect calorimeter is an FDA-cleared, Class II, medical device that assesses metabolic rate by measuring a patient’s resting oxygen consumption.

“In this difficult morbidly obese population, we desperately need easily accessible RMR information to help gauge proper daily caloric recommendations and to study the effects of dramatic medical weight loss. The MedGem provides our medical staff an accurate and easy-to-use method for assessing RMR changes in these contestants”

“Resting metabolic rate (RMR) makes up approximately 70% of an individual’s daily energy needs. Understanding a patient’s calorie needs is extremely important when establishing a weight loss plan,” said Dr. Scott O. McDoniel, Director of Clinical Affairs for Microlife Medical Home Solutions, Inc. The WatchWT MedGem device is the world’s only hand-held indirect calorimeter that can accurately and reliably assess RMR in adults and children. Indirect calorimetry is the preferred method for assessing metabolic needs in adult and pediatric patients needing weight reduction as indicated by the American Dietetic Association’s Evidence-Based Nutrition Practice Guidelines for Adult and Pediatric Weight Management.

“We chose to use the MedGem device based on its accuracy in comparison to other indirect calorimeters and doubly-labeled water,” said Dr. Robert Huizenga, Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine at UCLA and Medical Advisor to The Biggest Loser. The doubly-labeled water method is particularly useful for measuring average metabolic rate over relatively long periods of time (i.e., a few days or weeks) in patients for whom other types of direct or indirect calorimetric measurements of metabolic rate would be difficult to impossible. The MedGem device is portable and can assess RMR in as little as 5 minutes. Due to the ease of performing a measurement, The Biggest Loser contestants found the MedGem test to be quick and easy.

Resting metabolic rate varies dramatically between individuals. Until recently, most healthcare providers would estimate RMR using complicated estimation equations. However, several studies indicate estimations are substantially inaccurate and can lead to developing a wrong nutrition plan for overweight patients. A 2008 study, published in Obesity Facts: The European Journal on Obesity, demonstrated overweight patients lost more weight with a personalized nutrition program from a MedGem measurement vs. an estimated nutrition plan. “In this difficult morbidly obese population, we desperately need easily accessible RMR information to help gauge proper daily caloric recommendations and to study the effects of dramatic medical weight loss. The MedGem provides our medical staff an accurate and easy-to-use method for assessing RMR changes in these contestants,” said Dr. Huizenga. Resting metabolic rate often changes as the result of weight loss and the MedGem device provides an easy solution for adjusting a patient’s nutrition plan to prevent weight loss plateaus.