Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Perspective
  • Published:

Crystal Ball series

Physical activity and energy balance

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 73, pages 1327–1330 (2019)Cite this article

Subjects

During the MSc project of my study biology, I was introduced to the interaction between energy expenditure and body weight regulation, and this continued to be my main focus in research. My MSc project was a study on growth efficiency in birds. It started with putting up 50 wooden nest boxes in the national park ‘De Hoge Veluwe’, to measure energy intake, energy expenditure, and growth in nestlings of starlings from hatching to fledging [1]. Subsequently, my PhD project was a laboratory study on adaptations of energy expenditure during starvation, titled: How rats economize—energy loss in starvation [2]. Following postdoc projects were focused on flight energetics in birds, while developing the use of the doubly labelled water method for measurements. After fourteen years in animal work, I switched to Human Energetics.

The methodology for measuring energy expenditure in the laboratory remained indirect calorimetry. Birds, rats, and humans were housed in a respiration chamber to measure oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide production. To measure energy expenditure under free-living conditions, I developed the use of the doubly labelled water method in a project on the energy budget of the House martin [3]. Isotope analyses were performed at the Scottish Universities Research and Reactor Centre at East Kilbride in Scotland. Back in the Netherlands, I used facilities of the Centre for Isotope Research of the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. At Maastricht University, where I switched to human energetics, I started my own facility while frequently exchanging experiences with the other two initiators of the application of the doubly labelled water method in human research: Dr. Dale Schoeller in the USA and Dr. Andy Coward in the UK.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  1. Westerterp KR. The energy budget of the nestling Starling Sturnus vulgaris: a field study. Ardea. 1973;61:127–58.

    Google Scholar 

  2. Westerterp KR. How rats economize—energy loss in starvation. Physiol Zool. 1977;50:331–62.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Bryant DM, Westerterp KR. The energy budget of the House martin, Delichon urbica. Ardea. 1980;68:91–102.

    Google Scholar 

  4. Plasqui G, Bonomi AG, Westerterp KR. Daily physical activity assessment with accelerometers: new insights and validation studies. Obes Rev. 2013;14:451–62.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Westerterp KR. Pattern and intensity of physical activity. Nature. 2001;410:539.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Ekelund U, Aman J, Yngve A, Renman C, Westerterp K, Sjöström M. Physical activity but not energy expenditure is reduced in obese adolescents: a case-control study. Am J Clin Nutr. 2002;76:935–41.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Westerterp KR. Exercise, energy expenditure and energy balance, as measured with doubly labelled water. Proc Nutr Soc. 2018;77:4–10.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Westerterp KR, Kester AD. Physical activity in confined conditions as an indicator of free-living physical activity. Obes Res. 2003;11:865–8.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Joosen AM, Gielen M, Vlietinck R, Westerterp KR. Genetic analysis of physical activity in twins. Am J Clin Nutr. 2005;82:1253–9.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Westerterp KR, Plasqui G. Physically active lifestyle does not decrease the risk of fattening. PLoS ONE. 2009;4:e4745.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  11. Westerterp KR, Meijer GA, Janssen EM, Saris WH, Ten Hoor F. Long-term effect of physical activity on energy balance and body composition. Br J Nutr. 1992;68:21–30.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Westerterp KR. Exercise, energy balance and body composition. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2018;72:1246–50.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  13. Westerterp KR, Saris WH, Van Es M, Ten Hoor F. Use of the doubly labeled water technique in humans during heavy sustained exercise. J Appl Physiol. 1986;61:2162–7.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Westerterp KR, Kayser B, Brouns F, Herry JP, Saris WH. Energy expenditure climbing Mt. Everest. J Appl Physiol. 1992;73:1815–9.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Westerterp KR, Kayser B, Wouters L, Le Trong JL, Richalet JP. Energy balance at high altitude of 6542 m. J Appl Physiol. 1994;77:862–6.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Westerterp KR, Meijer EP, Rubbens M, Robach P, Richalet JP. Operation Everest III: energy and water balance. Eur J Physiol. 2000;439:483–8.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Westerterp-Plantenga MS, Westerterp KR, Rubbens M, Verwegen CR, Richalet JP, Gardette B. Appetite at “high altitude” [Operation Everest III (Comex-’97)]: a simulated ascent of Mount Everest. J Appl Physiol. 1999;87:391–9.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Westerterp KR. Energy balance in motion. Heidelberg; Springer, 2013.

  19. Keys A, Brozek J, Henschel A, Mickelsen O, Taylor HL. The biology of human starvation. Minneapolis; University of Minnesota Press, 1950.

  20. Westerterp KR. Daily physical activity as determined by age, body mass and energy balance. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2015;115:1177–84.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  21. Bouten CV, Van Marken Lichtenbelt WD, Westerterp KR. Body mass index and daily physical activity in anorexia nervosa. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1996;28:967–73.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Camps SG, Verhoef SP, Westerterp KR. Weight loss-induced reduction in physical activity recovers during weight maintenance. Am J Clin Nutr. 2013;98:917–23.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Joosen AM, Westerterp KR. Energy expenditure during overfeeding. Nutr Metab (Lond). 2006;3:25.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Pasquet P, Brigant L, Froment A, Koppert GA, Bard D, de Garine I, et al. Massive overfeeding and energy balance in men: the Guru Walla model. Am J Clin Nutr. 1992;56:483–90.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Speakman JR, Westerterp KR. Associations between energy demands, physical activity, and body composition in adult humans between 18 and 96 y of age. Am J Clin Nutr. 2010;92:826–34.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Hoos MB, Kuipers H, Gerver WJ, Westerterp KR. Physical activity pattern of children assessed by triaxial accelerometry. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2004;58:1425–8.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. Meijer EP, Westerterp KR, Verstappen FT. The effect of exercise training on total daily physical activity in the elderly. Eur J Appl Physiol. 1999;80:16–21.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Ainslie PN, Campbell IT, Frayn KN, Humphreys SM, MacLaren DP, Reilly T, et al. Energy balance, metabolism, hydration, and performance during strenuous hill walking: the effect of age. J Appl Physiol. 2002;93:714–23.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  29. Rosenkilde M, Morville T, Andersen PR, Kjaer K, Rasmusen H, Holst JJ, et al. Inability to match energy intake with energy expenditure at sustained near-maximal rates of energy expenditure in older men during a 14-d cycling expedition. Am J Clin Nutr. 2015;102:1498–05.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Westerterp KR. Alterations in energy balance with exercise. Am J Clin Nutr. 1998;68(Suppl):970S–4.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. NUTRIM, Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht, The Netherlands

    Klaas R. Westerterp

Authors
  1. Klaas R. Westerterp
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Klaas R. Westerterp.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The author declares that he has no conflict of interest.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Westerterp, K.R. Physical activity and energy balance. Eur J Clin Nutr 73, 1327–1330 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41430-018-0374-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41430-018-0374-9

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links