Energy expenditure and obesity

The development of obesity results from an imbalance between energy intake and expenditure. Several studies have therefore assessed energy expenditure in obese patients, 24-hour energy expenditure can he partitioned into three major components: resting metabolic rate, diet-induced thermogenesis, and physical activity. Resting metabolic rare is essentially unchanged in obesity when normalized for body composition. Diet-induced thermogenesis is decreased in some insulin resistant obese patients. The amount of energy expended for physical activity by obese patients remains however unknown. These studies altogether did not show a decrease in energy expenditure at the origin of obesity.