Abstract
Coupling energy intake (EI) to increases in energy expenditure (EE) may be adaptively, compensatorily, or maladaptively leading to weight gain. This narrative review examines if functioning of the homeostatic responses depends on the type of physiological perturbations in EE (e.g., due to exercise, sleep, temperature, or growth), or if it is influenced by protein intake, or the extent, duration, timing, and frequency of EE. As different measures to increase EE could convey discrepant neuronal or humoral signals that help to control food intake, the coupling of EI to EE could be tight or loose, which implies that some ways to increase EE may have advantages for body weight regulation. Exercise, physical activity, heat exposure, and a high protein intake favor weight loss, whereas an increase in EE due to cold exposure or sleep loss likely contributes to an overcompensation of EI, especially in vulnerable thrifty phenotypes, as well as under obesogenic environmental conditions, such as energy dense high fat—high carbohydrate diets. Irrespective of the type of EE, transient elevations in the metabolic rate seem to be general risk factors for weight gain, because a subsequent decrease in energy requirement is not compensated by an adequate adaptation of appetite and EI.
Highlights
There are considerable intra-individual variations in daily energy expenditure (EE)due to, e.g., day-to-day differences in physical activity (PA) [1,2,3] or variances in sleep duration [4,5,6,7]
Under controlled conditions in a metabolic chamber, we found that a high PA level of 1.76 at low-intensity was needed for spontaneous maintenance of energy balance under ad libitum access to an energy-dense Western diet [24]
An increase in EE leads to increases in energy intake (EI) that may be adaptive and compensatory, or maladaptive, leading to weight gain depending on the type of EE
Summary
There are considerable intra-individual variations in daily energy expenditure (EE). due to, e.g., day-to-day differences in physical activity (PA) [1,2,3] or variances in sleep duration (i.e., on weekdays vs. the weekend) [4,5,6,7]. EE should inevitably lead to a compensatory stimulation of food intake This coupling of energy intake (EI) to changes in EE is important for the maintenance of energy balance, ensuring survival. It remains incompletely understood whether the homeostatic responses to EE depend on the type of physiological perturbations in EE (e.g., it may differ between exercise, sleep loss, differences in temperature, or growth). Since different measures to increase EE can convey discrepant neuronal or humoral signals that help to control food intake, the coupling of EI to EE could be tight or loose, which implies that different ways to increase EE may have advantages or even disadvantages for body weight control.
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