Assessing Dietary Requirements in Relation to Resting Metabolic Rate in Spinal Cord Injury

Assessing Dietary Requirements in Relation to Resting Metabolic Rate in Spinal Cord Injury

Assess the relationship between body composition, metabolism, and dietary needs in people with spinal cord injury compared to their healthy controls that are age and sex matched.

This study will quantify body composition and resting metabolic rate and then compare these parameters to results from a nutritional analysis. Participants will have two study visits that include physical exam, blood draws, resting metabolic rate, Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DXA) scan, and dietary assessments.

Inclusion Criteria:

1. C4-L2 motor complete (AIS A & B) Spinal Cord injury for duration greater than 12 months.

4. <5% change in body in body weight over the past 12 months 5. Fluent in written and spoken English

Exclusion Criteria:

1. <22% body fat
2. Coronary artery disease
3. Type 1 diabetes mellitus, insulin-requiring Type 2 or untreated diabetes mellitus (fasting glucose>126 or HgbA1c>7.0)
4. Hypothyroidism, and/or renal disease
5. Decisional impairment
6. Prisoner