American College of Sports Medicine Annual Meeting
Orlando, Florida, USA
May 29, 2014

The Science of Energy Balance: A Model for Weight Management Intervention

The IAFNS Committee on Balancing Food & Activity for Health contributed to the development of this scientific session.

Abstract

As healthy weight individuals are now a minority of the US population, obesity and metabolic disease may be the critical public health challenge for the first half of the 21st century. Energy balance refers to the integrated effects of diet, physical activity, and genetics on growth and body weight over an individual’s lifetime. The disruption of the balance between energy intake and expenditure, with a net positive energy intake results in increased body weight and typically fat accumulation. Although an imbalance in energy consumption and expenditure is required to cause weight gain, the relative contributions of each remain less defined. This special session will provide a state-of-the-art update on our understanding of the interaction of the energy balance components and how these interactions affect overweight and obesity.

Speakers

Influence of Physical Activity and Diet/Food Consumption on Energy Balance
James O. Hill, PhD, University of Colorado Health Science Center, Denver, CO

Complexity of Methodologies for Studying Energy Balance
Joseph E. Donnelly, EdD, FACSM, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS

Results from the Energy Balance Study: Impact of Flux on Balancing Energy Intake and Expenditure
Gregory A. Hand, PhD, MPH, FACSM, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC

Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior: Viable Intervention Targets for Energy Balance?
John Jakicic, PhD, FACSM, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA