Energy balance
Increasing voluntary exercise in humans often fails to increase total daily energy expenditure (DEE) because it triggers a compensatory reduction in spontaneous physical activity (SPA/NEAT), particularly in older adults.
If you are an older adult, adding structured exercise might not increase your total daily calorie burn because your body may automatically reduce your spontaneous movements (like fidgeting or pacing) to compensate. To maximize energy expenditure, focus on maintaining high spontaneous activity throughout the day rather than relying solely on structured workouts to drive weight loss.
In general, the effect of exercise training on non-training physical activity seems to be age dependent, with no change in DEE in older adults and an increase in DEE in younger subjects... older individuals compensate for increased exercise training by lowering their non-training activity during the remainder of the day, whereas no such compensation occurs in younger subjects
Why this rating
Based on multiple controlled human studies using DLW and accelerometry cited in the review.
Source
The biological control of voluntary exercise, spontaneous physical activity and daily energy expenditure in relation to obesity: human and rodent perspectives
Theodore Garland et al. · Journal of Experimental Biology · 2010
DOI 10.1242/jeb.048397
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