Are energy expenditure and substrate oxidation implicated in the control of energy intake in adolescents with obesity?

Energy expenditure and appetite control, long considered to operate independently, have in recent years been explored as an interactive system whose dialogue plays a central role in human energy homeostasis and body weight control. The present commentary describes the currently available literature regarding the effect of acute exercise-induced energy expenditure and substrate oxidation rates on the subsequent control of energy intake in adolescents with obesity. In addition, recent findings indicating the importance of daily energy metabolism, in interaction with body composition, are discussed in this context of pediatric obesity. The current findings in adolescents with obesity have confirmed the fundamental relationships among Fat Free Mass, Resting Metabolic Rate and Energy Intake, and have raised novel hypotheses regarding the roles of substrate oxidation and protein metabolism in the tonic control of appetite. Interestingly, our evidence suggests that in the acute control of food intake in response to exercise, the induced energy expenditure and substrate oxidation rates do not appear to be associated.