ABSTRACT
The desire to lose body fat is common among competitive and recreational athletes and sedentary individuals. In some instances this need is necessary since the athlete may be above the required % body fat for their sport, and in the case of sedentary persons they may be overweight or even obese. Certainly from a health perspective being obese, and to a lesser extent being overweight, is a problem. Weight loss, and in particular body fat loss, occurs when energy intake is less than energy expenditure. Exercise alone can be used to increase the energy expenditure and so result in weight loss. Weight and body fat loss can also be achieved through dieting, i.e. reducing energy intake. Clearly the amount of food consumed when on a diet must be below the energy expended or else no weight will be lost.
