Article by Dr Paul Batman Ph.D

The answer has always been that your weight would increase simply because you ate too much food. However, we know that not everyone gains weight when they eat the same amount of food.

There has always been a question as to why some people appear to be able to eat everything and not put on weight, while others only have to look at food and the pounds or kilograms stack on!!

One of the first studies to examine overfeeding was conducted in 1990 by Dr Claude Bouchard. He overfed 12 pairs of male twins an additional 1,000 Kcals per day for 6 days (the seventh day they could eat anything) for 14 weeks. In other words they were fed 84,000 additional Kcals over three months!!

The weight gain in this study ranged from 4 kilograms to a high of 14 kilograms. The researchers suggested that some people had bodies that were susceptible to weight gain while others appeared more efficient at using the additional Kcalories.

Where did the missing Kcalories go? given that this cohort of subjects lived in the same environment under the same feeding conditions?

In an attempt to answer this question Dr James Levine overfed a group of sedentary subjects from all walks of life who did not participate in any fitness training program. After determining the number of Kcalories required to maintain their normal body weight, the subjects were overfed by an additional 1,000 Kcalories per day for 8 weeks, while still continuing with their normal daily activities.

This group ate an additional 56,000 Kcalories over the 8 weeks of the study.

Again the results showed that some subjects put on up to 7 kilograms while others appeared not to put any weight at all, while the remaining subjects were somewhere in the middle.

Again the question was asked “ Why did some put on significant amounts of weight while others barely gained any weight?” None of these subjects were exercising in any form and only performed their normal daily activities.

So what is the answer? Is it that they really do have a slow metabolism or are just big boned?

Those subjects who put on the most weight were those who remained stationary by sitting or lying down for the majority of their day.

The weight gainers sat on average an additional 2.5 hours per day than those who controlled their weight gain.

Those who controlled their weight gain walked more, stood more and fidgeted more to the tune of an additional 350 Kcalories per day. They tended to be more habitually active while eating the additional Kcalories.

If an average person expended an additional 350 Kcalories per day they have the potential to lose 18 kilograms in 12 months.

These studies tell us that putting on weight is not just about the amount of food that you eat.

Those who could control their weight gain were those who lived their life with greater movement, not necessarily by going to the gym but by performing more active living movements in the home, at work, using active transport, standing and walking.

The weight gain was not only associated with the additional food consumed but the amount of NEAT (Non exercise activity thermogenesis) work the subjects expended during their day

So the answer as to why some people gain weight and others don’t, given that they might consume similar amounts of food could lie in the daily incidental movements that they perform.

Given that over the past 50 years we have been robbed of over 150 kcalories per day by labour saving devices and changes in our work environments the increase in obesity rates could be partly accounted for by the decreasing amount of NEAT.

We know that daily energy expenditure is divided into basal metabolic rate, thermic affect of food and activity thermogenesis. Activity thermogenesis is divided into exercise thermogenesis and non-exercise thermogenesis (NEAT).

The NEAT is the section where the greatest amount of energy expenditure is potentially possible and the one that can be manipulated the most.

If you find yourself in a situation where you are eating more than you normally do, find ways of expending additional energy by increasing your NEAT.

Dr Paul Batman Ph.D Biography

Paul has over 15 years’ experience in the vocational education sector as a business owner, lecturer and course developer. Originally Paul worked for 20 years as a Senior Lecturer in Exercise and Sports Science and Physical Education at Universities throughout Australia, including UNSW and ACPE and is well recognised in the fitness industry having lectured to over 30,000 + prospective fitness trainers in a variety of settings.

Paul is widely known throughout the fitness industry. Apart from co-authoring most of the fitness texts currently used by a host of other course providers, he has also authored over 10 books and 100 magazine and journal articles. He has also presented at major international conferences in Australia, USA, Canada and the United Kingdom over the past 30 years.

Dr Batman’s main current research interest is in: NEAT (Non Exercise Activity Thermogenesis). In recognition of his contribution to the fields of education, exercise science, health and fitness at the tertiary and vocational education level, Paul was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012.