title: Metabolic adaptations to over--and underfeeding--still a matter of debate?
abstract: Weight changes in response to a change in energy intake are smaller than calculated from the excess or deficit of energy intake. Digestion efficiency is not affected by intake level when consuming the same diet. Over- or underfeeding induces an increase or decrease in energy expenditure. Intake-induced expenditure changes are largely explained by proportional changes in diet-induced energy expenditure, in activity-induced energy expenditure and in maintenance expenditure as a function of changes in body weight and body composition. Additionally, underfeeding causes a metabolic adaptation as reflected in a reduction of maintenance expenditure below predicted values and defined as adaptive thermogenesis. Thus, alternating overfeeding and underfeeding with an iso-energetic amount results in a positive energy balance. The latter might be one of the explanations for the increasing incidence of obesity in our current society with an ample food supply.
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Biology, Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht, The Netherlands. k.westerterp@maastrichtuniversity.nl
authors.forename: K R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Westerterp
mesh_terms: D001823:Body Composition; D001835:Body Weight; D004032:Diet; D002149:Energy Intake; D004734:Energy Metabolism; D006801:Humans; D006963:Hyperphagia / Q000378:metabolism*; D044342:Malnutrition / Q000378:metabolism*; D009765:Obesity / Q000209:etiology / Q000378:metabolism*; D022722:Thermogenesis