Summary Background & Aims We aimed to assess the association between the distinct abdominal sub-depots and resting energy expenditure (REE). Methods We performed magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to quantify abdominal visceral-adipose-tissue (VAT), deep-subcutaneous-adipose-tissue (deep-SAT), and superficial-subcutaneous-adipose-tissue (superficial-SAT). We measured REE by indirect-calorimetry. Non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT) 1-3 metabolic equivalents (METs) and exercise thermogenesis (activities of 4+METS ) were estimated based on 6-days of accelerometry to assess total physical activity energy expenditure (PAEE). Results We studied 282 participants: 249 men mean age=47.4 years, body-mass-index (BMI) =31 kg/m2 , mean VAT proportion from total abdominal fat=34.5%, mean superficial-SAT proportion from total abdominal fat=24.3% and 33 women (mean age=51.2 years, BMI=30.1 kg/m2 , mean VAT proportion from total abdominal fat=22.8%, mean superficial-SAT proportion from total abdominal fat=37.8%). As expected, women had lower REE by 32.4% (1,488±234 kcal/day vs. 1,971±257 kcal/day; p<0.01) and lower REE/kg by 8% (19.6 ±3 kcal/kg vs. 21.2 ±2 kcal/kg; p<0.01) than men. Exercise and total PAEE were positively associated with REE/kg (p<0.01 for both) and a positive correlation between NEAT and REE/kg was borderline (p=0.056). Participants, in whom abdominal VAT was the dominant proportional depot, had higher REE (1,964±297 kcal/day vs. 1,654±352 kcal/day; p<0.01) and higher REE\kg (22.2±2.3 kcal/kg/day vs. 19.6±2.5 kcal/kg/day; p<0.01) than participants in whom superficial-SAT was the largest proportional depot. In multivariate models, adjusted for age, gender and residual BMI, increased VAT proportion was independently associated with higher REE (β=0.181; p=0.05). Likewise, increased VAT proportion (β=0.482; p<0.01) remained independently associated with higher REE/kg. In this model younger age (β=-0.329; p<0.01) was associated with higher REE/kg. Conclusions Abdominal fat distribution patterns are associated with varying levels of resting energy expenditure, potentially reflecting different metabolic rates of adipose sub-depots and providing an anatomic/anthropometric link to physiological obese sub-phenotypes.