Energy expenditure is the amount of energy used by the body for internal and external activities, measured in calories. It varies from person to person and is affected by factors such as physical activity, sleep, food, temperature, and muscle mass. Total energy expenditure is the combination of internal and external activity, and weight is gained, lost, or maintained depending on the balance between energy intake and expenditure.
Energy expenditure refers to the amount of energy a person uses daily to complete all regular bodily activities, from movement to breathing and digestion. It is measured in calories, a unit of heat, and is represented by the symbol kcal. Energy requirements can vary widely from person to person, and even from day to day in an individual. Total energy expenditure, also known as metabolic rate, is affected by factors such as the amount of physical activity a person engages in, the number of hours they sleep, the types of food eaten, exposure to extreme temperatures, and the amount of muscle mass a person carries.
Simply put, this measure is the combination of internal and external activity performed by the body. Internal activity involves two main processes: digestion of food and basal energy expenditure. Digestion, known in this context as the thermic effect of food (TEF), refers to the energy expended to break down, process and absorb food, with TEF estimated to account for 10% of the body’s daily expenditure. Basal energy expenditure, also known as the basal metabolic rate (BMR), is the energy used to fuel all other internal processes, such as the maintenance of respiration, heart rate, and kidney function. It is affected by factors such as environmental temperature, as the body will work to maintain its internal temperature of 98.6°F (approximately 37°C), and muscle mass, as larger muscles have higher energy requirements even when at rest. repose.
The external activity that goes into this measurement incorporates all movements from sitting in a chair to running on a treadmill. It is expressed as level of physical activity (PAL); someone who works in an office and is fairly sedentary, or inactive, will have a lower PAL than someone who does manual labor or exercises regularly. A person’s daily energy expenditure, measured in calories burned, can be increased simply by moving more throughout the day, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, or walking to work instead of driving.
The calories burned through external work, when added to the calories burned from the internal processes of TEF and BMR, constitute the total energy expenditure. Depending on the balance between energy intake (food and drink consumed) and the amount of energy expended, the body will gain, lose, or maintain weight. Weight gain occurs when energy intake exceeds energy expenditure, or calories in exceed calories out. Weight is lost when calories in exceed calories in, and weight is maintained when the two are in balance.
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