Thermogenesis is defined as the use of energy to produce heat. It occurs in specific tissues, in particular brown adipose tissue. We've all become aware of this thermogenesis process at some point: remember that day when you were extremely cold, and your body started shivering without you being able to control it. In fact, it was your hypothalamus contracting your muscles to create heat.
Thermogenesis can come from several factors such as the environment, exercise and nutrition. Today several schools of thought link it to weight loss, since it's by burning calories that it creates heat. We decode this phenomenon with you in this article.
What is the phenomenon of thermogenesis?
Thermogenesis is the process by which the body creates heat. It's closely linked to metabolism since the body burns calories in order to produce heat. There are three types of thermogenesis that occur in the human body:
Exercise-associated thermogenesis - this is the heat production caused by intentional muscle movement for sports and exercise activities.
Non-exercise activity thermogenesis - energy spent on non-sporting activities such as standing, cooking, etc.
Diet-induced thermogenesis - these are the calories spent on the digestion, absorption and storage of food.
Thermogenesis can therefore be influenced by diet, exercise, as well as by the temperature of the surrounding environment. It allows your body to adapt to changing levels of activity and food, as well as to colder or warmer weather.
How can thermogenesis affect body weight?
Thermogenesis can have an influence on weight loss. Indeed, by burning calories, it can help you stay in a calorie deficit. Let's look in more detail at what can induce a state of thermogenesis…
#1. Exercise.
During a sporting activity, your muscle cells burn calories in order to provide energy for muscle contraction. Although most of this energy production is used for that purpose, a quantity of energy is lost as heat. This process is the reason your body temperature rises during exercise and why you start to sweat. The more you exercise, the more the energy will produce heat and the more calories you'll burn, the more weight you'll lose.
#2. Diet.
Thermogenic substances are naturally present in several foods. The caffeine in coffee, the catechins in tea and the capsaicins in chilli peppers can promote weight loss by temporarily increasing thermogenesis in your body. A study published in the International Journal of Obesity in 2005 reports that consuming these ingredients can lead to a 4% to 5% increase in your metabolism and help you burn fat by 10% to 16%.
#3. The environment.
Your body's temperature is regulated by a part of the brain called the hypothalamus. This internal "thermostat" receives signals from receptors in contact with your body that detect body temperature. When your body's temperature starts to drop, your hypothalamus sends a signal to your muscles to contract. These muscle contractions, or shivers, help produce heat and warm up your body.
How many calories do you burn with thermogenesis?
To begin with, several factors determine your basal metabolism. Metabolism is the process by which your body converts what you eat and drink into energy.
- Your age: with age your muscle mass tends to decrease and your fat mass to increase, which reduces the number of calories burned.
- Your weight, height and composition: more muscular people will naturally burn more calories.
- Your sex: women tend to have more fat mass than men of the same age and the same height, so men will naturally burn more calories.
Then it's thermogenesis that can affect your ability to burn calories.
- Exercise-associated thermogenesis - Physical activity is by far the most variable of the factors that determine the number of calories you burn each day.
- Non-exercise activity thermogenesis - accounts for around 100 to 800 calories consumed daily (walking from one room to another, gardening, cooking, etc.)
- Diet-induced thermogenesis - The digestion, absorption, transport and storage of the food you consume uses up calories. Around 10% of the calories from the carbohydrates and proteins you consume are used during the digestion and absorption of food and nutrients.
Regularly eating thermogenic foods can therefore indeed stimulate your metabolism and promote weight loss. However, adding these foods to your diet won't be a miracle recipe that melts away your fat. Spending time outdoors in cold temperatures in the hope of losing weight is obviously not recommended, and further research is needed to assess how this can promote weight loss. A healthy diet and regular exercise remain the best way to boost your metabolism and burn off excess kilos. Check out all our articles on weight loss on this subject.
