Metabolic adaptation, adaptive thermogenesis, metabolic compensation or even metabolic damage. These terms are thrown around a lot online, but what exactly do they mean, how much is science vs hype, and what's the relevance to runners, cyclists and triathletes?

Dr José Areta (Liverpool John Moores University, UK) is a researcher and co-author of a recent paper looking at whether the metabolic adaptations to an energy deficit in athletes is different if the energy deficit is induced by increased training load, or reduced calorie intake.

Follow José on Twitter/X: @jlAreta

Watch the talk mentioned from the The Royal Society Meeting in October 2022:

https://www.youtube.com/live/hkuktx5FUto?feature=shared&t=17901

Read the accompanying paper:

Halsey LG, Areta JL, Koehler K (2023). Does eating less or exercising more to reduce energy availability produce distinct metabolic responses? Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 378(1885):20220217. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2022.0217

The Energy Stress Meeting at Liverpool John Moores University in September 2022 (José was an organiser and presenter):

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLyoTPwnnO4j3vpPsjU8AqWmdpYYekfiPw

Episode 65 - What is metabolic adaptation and is it important? | Dr José Areta