In postmenopausal women, changes in how much food they report eating do not reliably explain why some people lose more weight than others when they start exercising.
Mechanism
Synthesis from 1 study
When postmenopausal women exercise, their bodies get better at using energy, so they burn fewer extra calories than expected. That’s why they don’t lose as much weight as you’d predict just from how much they worked out — it’s not because they’re eating more.
Most probable mechanism
When postmenopausal women exercise, their bodies become more efficient at using energy for movement and basic functions, so they burn fewer extra calories than expected — even if they don’t eat more. This efficiency means weight loss is less than predicted by just counting calories burned.
Exercise training increases mitochondrial efficiency in skeletal muscle, reducing the amount of energy wasted as heat during ATP production.
Improved neuromuscular coordination during movement reduces the total energy cost of physical activity at the same workload.
The net energy deficit from exercise is smaller than predicted because baseline metabolic adjustments offset the increased energy expenditure.
Evidence from Studies
Supporting (1)
Community contributions welcome
Dose–response effects of aerobic exercise on energy compensation in postmenopausal women: combined results from two randomized controlled trials
Contradicting (0)
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Gold Standard Evidence Needed
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