Rutgers Nutrition and Health Exam 2 Practice Test

Environmental temperature prompts adjustments in how much energy the body uses, a process known as adaptive thermogenesis. This component captures the body’s ability to raise or lower energy expenditure in response to environmental conditions, such as cold, to generate heat through mechanisms like non-shivering thermogenesis in brown fat and sympathetic nervous system activity. It also reflects how energy expenditure can adjust with changes in energy balance from feeding. This sets it apart from basal metabolic rate, which is the steady energy cost of basic physiological functions at rest in a neutral environment, the thermic effect of food, which is the energy needed to digest and process a meal, and physical activity, which is energy spent on movement and varies with activity level rather than the environment.