Why eating doesn't always make you grow faster
Specific dynamic action: the energy cost of digestion or growth?
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
When animals eat, their bodies use energy to digest food and grow. Some think the energy used just for digestion is wasted, so less digestion energy means more energy for growing. But this study says it's not that simple — sometimes less energy used after eating means the animal isn't absorbing food well, not that it has more energy to grow.
Surprising Findings
Reduced SDA may reflect diminished nutrient absorption rather than increased energy for growth.
Most people assume burning less energy after eating means more energy is freed up for growth—this study says the opposite: it might mean the body isn’t even taking in the nutrients properly.
Practical Takeaways
Don’t assume lower post-meal energy expenditure means better metabolism or faster growth.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
When animals eat, their bodies use energy to digest food and grow. Some think the energy used just for digestion is wasted, so less digestion energy means more energy for growing. But this study says it's not that simple — sometimes less energy used after eating means the animal isn't absorbing food well, not that it has more energy to grow.
Surprising Findings
Reduced SDA may reflect diminished nutrient absorption rather than increased energy for growth.
Most people assume burning less energy after eating means more energy is freed up for growth—this study says the opposite: it might mean the body isn’t even taking in the nutrients properly.
Practical Takeaways
Don’t assume lower post-meal energy expenditure means better metabolism or faster growth.
Publication
Journal
The Journal of experimental biology
Year
2024
Authors
Harriet R. Goodrich, C. M. Wood, R. W. Wilson, Timothy D. Clark, Katja B Last, Tobias Wang
Related Content
Claims (5)
There’s no solid proof that animals that burn less energy after eating grow bigger faster—even if they eat the same amount as others.
Calling SDA just 'digestion cost' ignores how the body uses food to grow—it’s more complicated than that.
After eating, animals' bodies burn more energy—but scientists aren't sure if that's because they're digesting food or growing, especially in cold-blooded animals like fish and lizards.
Sometimes, animals that burn less energy after eating aren’t growing better—they’re just not absorbing their food well.
Maybe the energy spike after eating isn’t about digesting food—it’s about how well the body uses the nutrients to build muscle and tissue.