National Energy Conservation Day- Understanding Energy Expenditure of Your Body

“National Energy conservation day” is celebrated all around India on the 14th of December. It aims to make people aware of the effects and causes of the energy used by each individual in the world. It also indicates the importance and sustainability of natural resources. The real meaning of energy conservation is to avoid unnecessary use of energy and to save it for future uses. To make energy conservation plans more effective, everyone should include energy conservation in their actions. This day aims to make the country aware of various effects and causes of Energy which is used by every person in the World.

• Energy expenditure of the body:

Carbohydrates, protein, fats, and alcohol—the dietary macro components—are the sources of energy in the diet. Energy is the capacity to do work. More than 95% of this food energy is digested and absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract under normal circumstances to fulfill the body’s energy needs. Food energy is required to meet the body’s needs, for various functions such as maintenance of body temperature, respiration, and muscle function; and storage and metabolism of all food sources of energy. Energy expenditure is the totality of the basal metabolic rate i.e, the amount of energy used at complete rest, the energy required to digest and absorb food, and the energy exhausted in physical activity.

• Energy balance:

It mentions the relationship of energy intake to energy expenditure and its storage. Less energy expenditure than energy intake results in a positive energy balance which is stored as body fat. Excessive fat storage is suitable during pregnancy and lactation, during years of growth and development, and during recovery from some type of trauma or malnutrition, but it is not desirable under other conditions. The condition when expenditure exceeds energy intake, energy balance is negative which leads to weight loss. When intake equals expenditure, equilibrium results, and body fat is maintained, regardless of body weight. Even at normal body weight, however, the percentage of body fat normally increases with age unless the regular physical activity is maintained. At the same bodyweight, some people who do not exercise have relatively more body fat than those who do regular exercise. Prolonged insufficient energy intake generally results in malnutrition. This can happen due to lack of economic ability to obtain food, from an illness, or from different physical or mental disorders that prevent sufficient ingestion or utilization of food to meet energy expenditure, or in some cases from the deliberate restriction of food intake and dieting.

• Resting energy expenditure:

It is influenced by age, sex, body weight, pregnancy, and hormonal status. The maximum rates of energy expenditure per unit of body weight occur during the time of infancy and then gradually decline through childhood. Females, on the other hand, have a lower energy expenditure per unit of weight than males, generally due to the higher proportion of body fat in women. Expenditure of energy is increased during Pregnancy times to support the growth of foetus and due to increase in the maternal tissues.

Over to you:
Everyone must be aware of the energy expenditure of the body to maintain body weight. It is necessary to balance the energy derived from food with that expended in physical activity to maintain a significant weight. Energy expenditure must exceed energy intake, if one has to lose weight. On the other hand, vice versa is required for weight gain.