Short and long-term energy intake patterns and their implications for human body weight regulation

Abstract view

Adults consume millions of kilocalories over the course of a few years, but the typical weight gain amounts to only a few thousand kilocalories of stored energy. Furthermore, food intake is highly variable from day to day and yet body weight is remarkably stable. These facts have been used as evidence to support the hypothesis that human body weight is regulated by active control of food intake operating on both short and long time scales.

The study demonstrate that active control of human food intake on short time scales is not required for body weight stability and that the current evidence for long term control of food intake is equivocal. To provide more data on this issue, the study suggest for developing new methods for accurately measuring energy intake changes over long time scales.

They propose that repeated body weight measurements can be used along with mathematical modeling to calculate long-term changes in energy intake and thereby quantify adherence to a diet intervention and provide dynamic feedback to individuals that seek to control their body weight. Thus mathematical modelling of human metabolism and body weight dynamics suggest that the large day to day variations in energy intake are irrelevant for body weight regulation. Rather, persistent changes in energy intake can lead to substantial weight changes over long time scales.


 
Fig.. Schematic of a method for personalized model-based feedback control of body weight. Using individual anthropometric and demographic data, a personalized mathematical model of metabolism is created to plan a lifestyle intervention to achieve a goal body weight in a specified time frame. By monitoring body weight and physical activity repeatedly, adherence to the intervention can be calculated and used iteratively to provide quantitative feedback regarding revised body weight predictions or changes in the prescribed intervention required to achieve the body weight goal.

Reference abstract: Chow, C. C. and K. D. Hall (2014). "Short and long-term energy intake patterns and their implications for human body weight regulation." Physiology & Behavior 134: 60-65.