Research paper
Poehlman ET. A review: exercise and its influence on resting energy metabolism in man. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. 1989 Oct;21(5):515-25. PMID: 2691813.
Why we cite it
Review establishing the three-component framework for total daily energy expenditure: resting metabolic rate (RMR, 60-75%), thermic effect of feeding (TEF, ~10%), and thermic effect of activity (TEA, 15-30%). Examines how exercise influences resting energy expenditure, noting discrepant findings in the literature. Relevant as the source for the widely cited RMR proportion of TDEE. The claims cited from this paper are review-level summaries of established physiology, not Poehlman’s own experimental data.
About the author
Eric T. Poehlman, PhD, was at the Department of Endocrinology, Metabolism & Nutrition, College of Medicine, University of Vermont at time of publication. Important caveat: Poehlman was later found guilty of research fraud by the Office of Research Integrity (ORI, 2005), admitting to 54 findings of scientific misconduct. He pleaded guilty to federal charges of reporting false data in NIH grant applications and was sentenced to one year and one day in prison (2006) — the first US academic jailed for falsifying research data. Ten of his publications were retracted or corrected, all focused on menopause, ageing, and norepinephrine data (1992–2002). This specific 1989 review paper was NOT among the retracted/corrected publications, and it reviews other researchers’ data rather than presenting Poehlman’s own experimental results. The RMR = 60-75% claim is well-established textbook knowledge supported by many independent sources.