Energy balance
Spontaneous Physical Activity (SPA) and Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT) are significant, variable components of daily energy expenditure that can predict total energy expenditure independently of structured exercise.
Focus on increasing your Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT). This includes fidgeting, standing, and walking during daily tasks. Reducing sedentary time (like watching TV) is a practical way to increase total energy expenditure and combat obesity, especially if you do not engage in regular voluntary exercise.
In studies of human subjects confined within metabolic chambers for 24 h, Ravussin et al. found that SPA varied widely and was a rather strong positive predictor of DEE... it is possible that such activity represents an unconscious need to be active.
Why this rating
Based on metabolic chamber studies and DLW data.
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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- 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.Good
- In laboratory rodents, access to running wheels increases food consumption and reduces body fat, but does not fully compensate for the energy cost of running through reductions in other spontaneous activities.Good
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