Energy Balance and

Temperature Regulation
The body converts most food energy
into heat.
 Energy input the energy supplied from ingested
food
 Energy released from the broken bonds in food
molecules is used, in part, to make ATP.
 Energy from ingested nutrients is used either
immediately to perform work or stored in
molecules in the body for future use.
 Energy output has two categories.
 External work is expended when skeletal muscles
move external objects.
 Internal work refers to the expenditure of energy
that does not accomplish mechanical work outside
the body.
The body converts most food
energy into heat.
 ~ 50% of energy supplied from nutrients
transferred to ATP.
 The remaining energy from nutrients is lost as heat
during the transfer of the energy to ATP
 Heat energy cannot be used to perform work.
Energy
Energy
Output
Input Thermal
Metabolic Internal work energy
Food energy pool (heat)
in body External work

Energy
storage
The metabolic rate is the rate of energy
use.
 metabolic rate = energy expenditure/unit of time
 Most of the energy expenditure of the body eventually appears as
heat.
 Therefore this rate is expressed as the rate of heat production in
kilocalories per hour.
 A person’s metabolic rate is measured under standardized basal
conditions.
 This is the basal metabolic rate (BMR).
 The person is at physical and mental rest, and performing at
comfortable room temperature.
 The person should not have eaten in the last 12 hours to avoid diet-
induced thermogenesis.
The metabolic rate is the rate of
energy use.
 Direct calorimetry is one way to measure the BMR.
 This method is cumbersome as one must measure all heat
release from the body
 By indirect calorimetry the person’s oxygen uptake per unit
time is measured.
 The energy equivalent of oxygen is 4.8 kilocalories per
liter of oxygen consumed.
 After the rate of heat production is determined under basal
conditions, it is compared to the normal values of people.
A neutral energy balance is maintained
when energy input equals energy output.
 energy input = energy output when:
 food consumed = external work plus internal heat
production plus/or minus stored energy
 A neutral energy balance occurs if the energy in
food intake equals the amount of energy expended
by the muscles performing external work plus the
basal internal energy expenditure that appears as
body heat.
A neutral energy balance is maintained
when energy input equals energy output.
 A positive energy balance occurs if the amount of energy in
food intake is greater than the amount of energy expended
 Negative energy balance occurs when the energy from food
intake is less than the body’s immediate energy
requirements.
 In a negative energy balance, the body must use stored
energy to supply energy needs.
 After several weeks, eating more or less can produce small
changes in metabolism.
 Metabolism decreases as food intake becomes limited.
 An increase in metabolism also goes with satiety
Food intake is controlled primarily by the
hypothalamus.
 The correlation between total caloric intake and total energy
output (energy homeostasis) is excellent over long periods of time.
 The hypothalamus has two feeding (appetite) centers and a satiety
center.
 These centers communicate with multiple, highly-integrated
pathways and respond to numerous chemical changes in the blood,
such as the concentration of glucose.
 Adipocytes are cells that store triglyceride fat.
 They also secrete leptin, a hormone essential for normal body weight
regulation.
 Its level in the blood increases as more fat is stored.
Various signals control food intake.
 The arcuate nucleus in the hypothalamus has receptors to detect
leptin
 In response to increased leptin the arcuate nucleus releases
melanocortins
 The paraventricular nucleus (PVN) responds to melanocortins by
releasing corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH)
 CRH promotes appetite suppression.
 In response to decreased leptin, the arcuate nucleus releases
neuropeptide Y (NPY)
 NPY stimulates the lateral hypothalmic area (LHA) to release orexins
 Orexins activate appetite stimulating pathways.
 Other controls include
 Increased use of glucose can signal satiety.
 Insulin in the blood signals satiety.
 CCK is an important satiety signal.
 Psychosocial and environmental influences
(e.g., habits, stress) are also factors.
 Body fat stores *Other chemicals are
also released from
this area that exert
similar functions.
Leptin

(from arcuate (from arcuate

Neuropeptide Y Melanocortins
nucleus)* nucleus)*

(from lateral (from lateral

Orexin Corticotropin paraventricular
hypothalamic
area)* area)*

Appetite- Appetite-
enhancing pathway suppressing pathway
Satiety signals important in short-term control of the size of meals
Adipose tissue-related signals important in long-term matching of intake
Psychosocial and environmental factors that influence food intake
 Appetite- Appetite-
enhancing pathway suppressing pathway

Gastro- Smell, taste

intestinal texture of
distension food

Glucose
use
Food Stress,
intake Anxiety,
depression,
Insulin boredom
(from
pancreas)
Amount of
CCK food
(from available
duodenum)

Satiety signals important in short-term control of the size of meals

Adipose tissue-related signals important in long-term matching of intake
Psychosocial and environmental factors that influence food intake
Obesity occurs when more kilocalories
are consumed that are burned up.
 Obesity is excessive fat content in the adipose
tissue.
 Several factors can cause obesity.
1. There may be disturbances in the leptin
signaling pathway.
2. The hypothalamus may set a higher level to
maintain homeostasis in obese people.
3. There is a change in the hypothalamus to leptin
resistance.
Other factors contributing to obesity
1. A lack of exercise is another factor resulting in
fewer calories expended.
2. People who are less likely to carry out nonexercise
activity thermogenesis expend less calories.
3. Differences exist in people in their ability to
extract energy from food.
4. Other factors are heredity, excessive numbers of
fat cells, certain endocrine disorders, emotional
disturbances, and a possible virus link.
5. People with anorexia nervosa have a pathologic
fear of gaining weight.
 Internal human body temperature
must be maintained at an optimal level
 Humans generate heat to maintain body temperature in cool outside
environments.
 Heat production depends on the oxidation of metabolic fuels for
food.
 Internal core temperature is maintained at 100o F though it varies
slightly over 24 hours.
 The central core is the abdominal and thoracic organs, the CNS, &
the skeletal muscles.
 Skin and subcutaenous fat constitute the outer shell
 Body temperature can be monitored at several sites externally.
 It increases during exercise due to heat production.
 External temperature extremes can affect it.
A stable core temperature is maintained
when heat input is balanced by heat output.
 Heat input occurs by heat gain from the external environment and
internal heat production.
 Most energy expenditures in the body appear as heat.
 Heat loss occurs by the loss of heat from exposed body surfaces
to the external environment.
 The balance between input and output can be disturbed by factors
such as exercise and temperature changes in the external
environment.
 If the core body temperature falls, heat production is increased in
the body.
 If this temperature rises, mechanisms for heat loss compensate.
Heat input
and output

Internal heat
production

Core temperature

Heat input Total body Heat output

heat content

Heat gain Heat loss

External environment
Heat exchange occurs in several ways.
The body uses four mechanisms.
1) Radiation
 Radiation is the
emission of heat from
a surface as
electromagnetic
waves.
 The human body emits
and absorbs radiant
energy.
 The body loses half
of its heat through
radiation.
2) Conduction
Snowball
Heating pad
 Conduction is the
transfer of heat
between objects
of different
temperatures when
the objects make
contact.
 Heat moves down its
thermal gradient.
 The rate of heat transfer
depends on the temperature
difference & the thermal conductivity.
 Only a small amount of heat transfer occurs by
conduction in the human body.
3) Convection
 Convection is the
transfer of heat by air
currents.
 This process combines
Convection
current
with conduction to
dissipate heat from the
body.
 4) Evaporation
 By evaporation when water evaporates from the
skin, the required heat for this change comes from
the body.
 This is a cooling process.
 Sweating is an Liquid
converted
active evaporation to gaseous
heat-loss process vapor
under sympathetic control.
 The relative humidity of
the surround air
determines the extent
of evaporation of sweat.
The hypothalamus integrates a
multitude of thermosensory inputs.
 The hypothalamus is the thermostat of the body
 The posterior region of the hypothalamus detects cold
temperatures.
 The anterior region detects warm temperatures.
 Peripheral thermoreceptors send afferent information
about the surrounding temperature to this the
hypothalamus.
 It can respond to extremely small changes in blood
temperature.
 Central thermoreceptors in the hypothalamus also detect
temperature changes.
Effector mechanisms for maintaining
body temperature.
1. Shivering is the main involuntary means of
increasing heat production.
2. Ongoing metabolic activities of the thoracic and
abdominal organs generate heat.
3. Oscillating skeletal muscle activity, shivering, adds
to this heat.
i. A reduction in heat-producing skeletal muscle
activity has the opposite effect.
4. Nonshivering thermogenesis also produces heat.
5. Heat loss is adjusted by the flow of blood through
the skin.
i. The dilation of skin vessels eliminates heat.
ii. Their constriction holds heat in the body.
The hypothalamus coordinates heat
production and heat loss mechanisms.
1. The coordinated responses to cold exposure are shivering for
heat production and skin vasoconstriction to minimize heat loss.
 Behavioral adaptations also contribute to these responses
(curling up).
2. The main, coordinated responses to heat exposure are decreased
shivering and skin vasodilation to increase heat loss.
 Also, sweating is a means of heat loss.
3. Skin vasomotor activity is highly effective in controlling heat loss
in environmental temperatures between the upper 60s and mid
80s, the thermoneutral zone.
 Above this zone sweating is the dominant factor.
 Skin temperature Core temperature

Peripheral Central
thermoreceptors thermoreceptors

(in skin) (in hypothalamus,

other areas of CNS,
Hypothalamic thermoregulatory
center & abdominal organs)

Behavioral Motor Sympathetic Sympathetic

adaptations neurons nervous system nervous system

Skeletal Skin blood Sweat glands

muscles vessels

Muscle tone, Skin vaso-

shivering constriction Sweating
& vasodilation

Control of Control of Control of Control of

heat production heat production heat loss heat loss
or heat loss
 Adjustment to exercise

Increased heat
generation Cooling mechansims
increases core kick in and prevent and
addition rise in the
Core temperature

body temp
several degrees core body temperature
above resting
set point
Hyperthermia
Resting
set-point
temperature
During fever the hypothalmic Infection of inflammation

thermostat is “reset” at an Neutrophils

elevated temperature.
 White blood cells produce Endogenous pyrogen
endogenous pyrogens.
 In response to this the
hypothalamus maintains body Prostaglandins
temperature at a net set level
that is higher. Hypothalamic set point
 Hyperthermia can occur unrelated
to infection. Initiation of “cold response”
 It can be induced by exercise,
endocrine dysfunctions, and
malfunctions of the hypothalamus. Heat production; heat loss

Body temperature to
new set point = Fever