Physical activity and total energy expenditure of child-bearing Gambian village women.

In a longitudinal study of pregnancy and lactation levels of physical activity and total energy expenditure (TEE) were measured in 32 rural Gambian women using an activity diary technique. TEE, which was higher than previously measured food intake in this community, ranged from a minimum of 9.6 MJ (2300 kcal)/d (1.7 X BMR) in the months January-March to a maximum of 11.3 MJ (2700 kcal)/d (2 X BMR) during the agricultural season (July-October). During pregnancy and early lactation women went less often to the fields and also reduced the amount of time spent walking and performing household tasks. Standardizing for season and for changes in BMR and the energy cost of activity, reductions in physical activity reduced TEE by 0.59 +/- 0.08 MJ (140 +/- 18 kcal)/d between the 28th week of gestation and 4 weeks post-partum (P less than 0.001). While reduced physical activity may have had an adverse effect on agricultural productivity, energy was spared for other processes including fetal growth and milk output immediately post-partum. Dietary supplementation was without effect on activity pattern.