Abstract
The aim of this study was to assess indirect calorimetry measurement of resting metabolic rate (RMR) with respect to sensitivity and reproducibility in a human study population suitable for early clinical studies to evaluate new anti‐obesity candidate drugs. Twenty‐four overweight, but otherwise healthy males were included in this randomized, single‐blind, placebo‐controlled, crossover study. Three different doses of epinephrine (0.005, 0.01, 0.03 µg · kg fat‐free mass (FFM)^−1^ · min^−1^) were used as active treatment. There were two identical study periods, separated by a 4‐week washout. Increases in RMR were seen with all tested concentrations of epinephrine when compared with placebo. Changes in RMR of ≥1.8% could be detected with 90% power in this crossover study design. The RMR values measured at the two study periods revealed a highly significant correlation (Spearman correlation 0.803, P=0.0007). To conclude, indirect calorimetry is a sensitive and robust means of measuring RMR. The method can be used to assess RMR in diverse clinical settings, even when considering modest differences. Drug Dev Res 69: 2008. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.