Simple Prediction of Metabolic Equivalents of Daily Activities Using Heart Rate Monitor without Calibration of Individuals

Abstract

Background: Heart rate (HR) during physical activity is strongly affected by the level of physical fitness. Therefore, to assess the effects of fitness, we developed predictive equations to estimate the metabolic equivalent (MET) of daily activities, which includes low intensity activities, by % HR reserve (%HRR), resting HR, and multiple physical characteristics. Methods: Forty volunteers between the ages of 21 and 55 performed 20 types of daily activities while recording HR and sampling expired gas to evaluate METs values. Multiple regression analysis was performed to develop prediction models of METs with seven potential predictors, such as %HRR, resting HR, and sex. The contributing parameters were selected based on the brute force method. Additionally, leave-one-out method was performed to validate the prediction models. Results: %HRR, resting HR, sex, and height were selected as the independent variables. %HRR showed the highest contribution in the model, while the other variables exhibited small variances. METs were estimated within a 17.3% difference for each activity, with large differences in document arrangement while sitting (+17%), ascending stairs (−8%), and descending stairs (+8%). Conclusions: The results showed that %HRR is a strong predictor for estimating the METs of daily activities. Resting HR and other variables were mild contributors. (201 words)