For , write for the coordinates other than , and set
By Tonelli theorem, . The key estimate is the functional Loomis-Whitney inequality:
Here is a proof in every dimension. In dimension two, the left-hand side separates into a product of two one-dimensional integrals, so Tonelli theorem gives equality. For , first integrate . Apply Hölder's inequality with factors to , which may depend on , and leave the factor outside that integral. Write
Each depends on the coordinates other than . With , the full integral is at most
Put . A second application of Hölder's inequality, with exponents and , bounds this expression by
By induction in dimension , . Since , substitution proves the claimed functional inequality. Nonnegative integrands justify all integrations; truncation gives the extended-valued version if necessary.
The pointwise hypotheses imply , so
Apply the proved functional inequality and take the power to obtain
For the useful case all the right-hand norms are finite. If one of them is zero, its line integral vanishes for almost every transverse coordinate and forces almost everywhere; there is no division by that factor. In dimension one the corresponding direct assertion is .
For conjugate exponents , , Hölder's inequality states that . If in the requested product estimate, every and multiplication of essential bounds proves it directly. Suppose . Factors with can again be bounded pointwise by their essential suprema.
Here is an explicit finite-exponent proof of the remaining Generalized Holder inequality. Put , so , and normalize . If one norm is zero the product vanishes almost everywhere. Otherwise . The weighted arithmetic-geometric mean inequality, applied to with weights , gives
Integrating gives . If only one finite exponent remains, its weight is one and the same argument is an equality. Restoring the normalization and taking the th root proves
In particular the product belongs to .
For the projection estimate, use the three-dimensional functional Loomis-Whitney inequality
This permitted three-dimensional result also follows directly by Cauchy-Schwarz inequality: integrate the square root of in , obtaining the square root of the product of their marginal integrals, and then apply Cauchy-Schwarz inequality in against .
Let be any nonnegative integrable function of the three coordinates excluding . For , define by integrating in . First Hölder's inequality with three equal exponents yields
The fourth factor is independent of . A further Hölder's inequality with exponents and , followed by the three-dimensional estimate, therefore gives
The marginal-integral identifications use Tonelli's theorem. Now take . The projections are compact and hence measurable with finite measure. Every has all its projected coordinates in the corresponding , so . Consequently
This includes zero-measure projections and is sharp for axis-parallel rectangular boxes.