Weight maintenance in men

Dear Colleagues,

An increase in fat mass over time as measured by an increase in waist circumference is related to increased mortality. As adolescents become adults they tend to reduce their energy expenditure while maintaining or increasing energy intake. This energy imbalance leads to an increase in fat mass over time. This fat mass would likely occur more in men as adolescents and children males tend to be more physically active and involved in sports than females.

Strategies to curtail the reduced energy expenditure include resistance exercise training and aerobic exercise training. Two strategies to curtail increased energy intake are caloric restriction and intermittent fasting. The goals of this special issue: “Weight maintenance in men” is to bring together manuscripts from researchers on interventions to reduce fat gain through increased physical activity or reduced energy intake: the two sides of the energy balance equation.

It is out premise that staying physically active while having an appropriate amount of muscle mass and reducing or maintaining energy intake over time will lead to the best health for the world’s population. This goal changes the way medical professionals must look at body composition from Body Mass Index centered thinking to percent body fat and percent muscle mass as it quite possible for a muscular man to have high body weight but a low body fat percentage especially if they engage in resistance training.

By Dr. Charles Paul Lambert