Lab 3

Assessment of Energy Expenditure and Nutritional Analysis

The body is an amazing machine in how it uses energy. For the most part, we consume the energy our bodies need in order to maintain our current weight. If we do not take in enough energy, our bodies will use stored resources, and if we take in too much, our bodies will store the excess energy for later use.

If you have not gained or lost weight in a month, on average, your body is within about 100 calories a day of what it needs to maintain your current weight. An average difference of 117 calories a day, too much or too little, can change your body weight by a pound a month. Those 117 calories are about equal to a plain slice of bread, an apple, a glass of OJ, a tablespoon of oil, or walking for about 20 minutes at a moderate pace.

In this lab, you will be evaluating your diet for nutritional quality, assessing your energy expenditure, and looking the balance between the two. Assessing the quality of your diet will give you the information you need to improve your diet or to confirm already good habits. In order to improve/maintain your desirable body composition, you need to consider the energy balance. In this lab, you will estimate caloric expenditure of your daily activities and compare this to your dietary intake to determine your personal energy balance.