The Role of Energy Flux in Weight Management

Excess body weight has been identified as one of the leading threats to public health. In addition to health concerns at the individual level, the increased medical costs put a significant burden on the health care system. Even though an imbalance between energy intake and energy expenditure is ulti...

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Main Authors: Clemens Drenowatz, Klaus Greier
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Sapientia Publishing Group 2017-12-01
Series:Exercise Medicine
Subjects:
Online Access:http://exercmed.org/upload/pdf/em-2017-004.pdf
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author Clemens Drenowatz
Klaus Greier
author_facet Clemens Drenowatz
Klaus Greier
author_sort Clemens Drenowatz
collection DOAJ
description Excess body weight has been identified as one of the leading threats to public health. In addition to health concerns at the individual level, the increased medical costs put a significant burden on the health care system. Even though an imbalance between energy intake and energy expenditure is ultimately responsible for changes in body weight and body composition such a simple opposition does not reflect the complex interaction of various contributors to energy balance. The limited understanding of the regulation of energy balance is also reflected by rising obesity levels, despite considerable efforts. In addition to energy balance, energy flux, which represents the rate of energy intake and energy expenditure, has been suggested to play an important role in the regulation of energy balance. Particularly a higher energy flux has been associated with a better matching of energy intake and energy expenditure resulting in stable body weight. While a high energy flux has been traditionally attributed to increased levels of physical activity it should be considered that increased body weight also affects energy expenditure and accordingly energy flux. In fact, total daily energy expenditure, and accordingly energy flux, does not differ between people in industrialized countries, living a predominantly sedentary lifestyle and people following a traditional lifestyle, characterized by high physical activity even though there are significant differences in body weight and body composition. It can, therefore, be argued that energy flux, rather than energy balance is a physiologically regulated entity. In this situation body weight and physical activity levels work in opposition to maintain a constant energy flux and weight gain would be a means to maintain a high energy flux with a sedentary lifestyle.
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spelling doaj.art-8e9a4db66cb54254a8a7bdf052b707562022-12-22T00:47:32ZengSapientia Publishing GroupExercise Medicine2508-90562017-12-01110.26644/em.2017.0044The Role of Energy Flux in Weight ManagementClemens Drenowatz0Klaus Greier1 Division of Physical Education, University of Education Upper Austria, Kaplanhofstraße 40, 4020 Linz, AUSTRIA Division of Physical Education, Private Educational College – Edith Stein, Stams, AUSTRIAExcess body weight has been identified as one of the leading threats to public health. In addition to health concerns at the individual level, the increased medical costs put a significant burden on the health care system. Even though an imbalance between energy intake and energy expenditure is ultimately responsible for changes in body weight and body composition such a simple opposition does not reflect the complex interaction of various contributors to energy balance. The limited understanding of the regulation of energy balance is also reflected by rising obesity levels, despite considerable efforts. In addition to energy balance, energy flux, which represents the rate of energy intake and energy expenditure, has been suggested to play an important role in the regulation of energy balance. Particularly a higher energy flux has been associated with a better matching of energy intake and energy expenditure resulting in stable body weight. While a high energy flux has been traditionally attributed to increased levels of physical activity it should be considered that increased body weight also affects energy expenditure and accordingly energy flux. In fact, total daily energy expenditure, and accordingly energy flux, does not differ between people in industrialized countries, living a predominantly sedentary lifestyle and people following a traditional lifestyle, characterized by high physical activity even though there are significant differences in body weight and body composition. It can, therefore, be argued that energy flux, rather than energy balance is a physiologically regulated entity. In this situation body weight and physical activity levels work in opposition to maintain a constant energy flux and weight gain would be a means to maintain a high energy flux with a sedentary lifestyle.http://exercmed.org/upload/pdf/em-2017-004.pdfEnergy expenditureEnergy intakeObesityPhysical activity
spellingShingle Clemens Drenowatz
Klaus Greier
The Role of Energy Flux in Weight Management
Exercise Medicine
Energy expenditure
Energy intake
Obesity
Physical activity
title The Role of Energy Flux in Weight Management
title_full The Role of Energy Flux in Weight Management
title_fullStr The Role of Energy Flux in Weight Management
title_full_unstemmed The Role of Energy Flux in Weight Management
title_short The Role of Energy Flux in Weight Management
title_sort role of energy flux in weight management
topic Energy expenditure
Energy intake
Obesity
Physical activity
url http://exercmed.org/upload/pdf/em-2017-004.pdf
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