Non-exercise activity thermogenesis

Malaika946

Just thought I should share this knowledge.

Non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT) is the energy expended for everything we do that is not sleeping, eating or sports-like exercise. It ranges from the energy expended walking to work, typing, performing yard work, undertaking agricultural tasks and fidgeting. Even trivial physical activities increase metabolic rate substantially and it is the cumulative impact of a multitude of exothermic actions that culminate in an individual's daily NEAT. It is, therefore, not surprising that NEAT explains a vast majority of an individual's non-resting energy needs. Epidemiological studies highlight the importance of culture in promoting and quashing NEAT. Agricultural and manual workers have high NEAT, whereas wealth and industrialization appear to decrease NEAT. Physiological studies demonstrate, intriguingly, that NEAT is modulated with changes in energy balance; NEAT increases with overfeeding and decreases with underfeeding.

Thus, NEAT could be a critical component in how we maintain our body weight and/or develop obesity or lose weight. The mechanism that regulates NEAT is unknown. However, hypothalamic factors have been identified that specifically and directly increase NEAT in animals. By understanding how NEAT is regulated we may come to appreciate that spontaneous physical activity is not spontaneous at all but carefully programmed.

tenunderfour

.... and NEAT is the whole reason I bought a Fitbit. I wanted to see visually how I could increase my calorie expenditure on a daily basis without exercising more.

BrianSharpe

If you're going to just cut & paste from another website please do them the courtesy of indicating where you got it from...

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12468415

Malaika946

Thanks for qouting the website for me, this is my third post besides replying to other posts, still finding my feet.