Mathematical Models of Human Metabolism and Body Weight Regulation <P>

Maintenance of a stable body weight requires that dietary carbohydrate, fat, and protein intake rates are balanced by their utilization rates. Any imbalance of these macronutrient fluxes will result in a change of body composition (i.e., body fat and fat-free masses) and body weight. But making quantitative predictions of body weight change resulting from various diets has proved difficult because of the complex nonlinear interactions between the metabolism of the macronutrients, as well as adaptations of energy expenditure, and body composition. Several recent mathematical models developed by our group have been developed to integrate whole-body metabolism data with body composition data in an attempt to better understand these interactions.