Validation of Cosmed's FitMate in measuring exercise metabolism.

The purpose of this study was to assess the validity of the FitMate metabolic system (Cosmed, Rome, Italy) in measuring oxygen consumption during graded exercise. The FitMate is a new, small (20 x 24 cm) metabolic analyzer designed for measurement of oxygen consumption during rest and exercise. Subjects included 40 healthy adults (N = 20 males, N = 20 females) ranging in age from 18 to 37 kg/m2 (mean +/- SD age, 22.5 +/- 3.6 years) and body mass index (BMI) from 18.3 to 32.5 kg/m2 (23.2 +/- 3.3 years). One-minute FitMate and Douglas bag measurements were made during steady state conditions at the end of each 3-minute stage of the Bruce treadmill graded exercise test, and subjects continued until they could not attain steady state exercise during a stage. Oxygen consumption difference scores (Douglas bag minus FitMate measurements) did not differ between males and females, so data were combined and analyzed for the entire group. During the first three stages, mean oxygen consumption did not differ significantly between the Douglas bag and FitMate systems (26.5 +/- 1.1 and 26.7 +/- 1.3 ml.kg-1.min-1, respectively, P = 0.140) with a mean absolute difference of 0.23 +/- 0.91 ml.kg-1.min-1 or 14.2 +/- 67.5 ml.min-1. In conclusion, the FitMate metabolic system accurately measures oxygen consumption during graded treadmill exercise when compared with the Douglas bag system in male and female adults.

Validation of Cosmed's FitMate in measuring oxygen consumption and estimating resting metabolic rate.

The purpose of this study was to assess the validity and reliability of the FitMate metabolic system (Cosmed, Rome, Italy) in measuring oxygen consumption and estimating resting metabolic rate (RMR). The FitMate is a new, small (20 x 24 cm) metabolic analyzer designed for measurement of oxygen consumption and energy expenditure during rest and exercise. Subjects included 60 healthy adults (N = 30 males, N = 30 females) ranging in age from 19 to 65 years (mean +/- SD age, 36.9 +/- 13.4 years) and body mass index (BMI) from 19.2 to 44.8 kg/m2 (27.7 +/- 6.2 kg/m2). Subjects were given two 10 min RMR tests in one test session during which RMR was measured simultaneously with the Douglas bag and FitMate systems. No significant differences were found between Douglas bag and FitMate systems for oxygen consumption (242 +/- 49 and 240 +/- 49 ml/min, respectively, P = 0.066, r = 0.97, mean +/- SD absolute difference 2.83 +/- 11.68 ml/min) or RMR (1,662 +/- 340 and 1,668 +/- 344 kcal/day, P = 0.579, r = 0.97, mean +/- SD absolute difference 5.81 +/- 80.70 kcal/day). These data indicate that the FitMate is a reliable and valid system for measuring oxygen consumption and RMR in adults.