Energy balance and its components: Implications for body weight regulation

A fundamental principle of nutrition and metabolism is that body weight change is associated with an imbalance between the energy content of food eaten and energy expended by the body to maintain life and to perform physical work. Such an energy balance framework is a potentially powerful tool for investigating the regulation of body weight. However, we need a better understanding of the components of energy balance and their interactions over various time scales to explain the natural history of conditions such as obesity and to estimate the magnitude and potential success of therapeutic interventions. Therefore, the ASN and the International Life Sciences Institute convened a panel composed of members with expertise in weight management, energy metabolism, physical activity, and behavior to review the published scientific literature and to hear presentations from other experts in these fields.