RESUMO
The scarce evidence on dietary reference intakes (DRIs) for people with physical impairments has made estimation of total energy expenditure (TEE) and nutritional requirements difficult. The first reason for this difficulty is that estimating basal metabolic rate (BMR) or resting energy expenditure (REE) is challenging. The second reason is the difficulty of estimating body composition, which is useful for calculating BMR, and the third reason is the difficulty of estimating physical activity level. The reason for all these difficulties is that DRIs applies to all types of physical disabilities. Thus, it turns out to be unenviable for planning nutritional programs and evaluating physical impairments. However, notable references are available on energy requirements not only for the corresponding health maintenance and promotional information for preventing physical impairments caused by lifestyle diseases in middle and old age but also for improving performance of Paralympic athletes. This review article focuses on the estimation of the energy requirements for people with physical impairments and discusses the possibilities and limitations of methods.