Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis, or NEAT, is the energy consumption that comes from everything we do that is not sleeping, eating or exercise.
NEAT accounts for approximately 25% of our total energy expenditure but it can vary greatly between individuals.
An accountant who sits behind a desk all day for work is someone who will have a low NEAT expenditure compared to a tradie who is physically active for most of the day, they will have a high NEAT expenditure.
Dieting can influence your NEAT expenditure by up to 500 calories per day. When calories are lowered, NEAT will naturally decrease and when calories are increased, NEAT expenditure will also increase.
NEAT is also a factor that we can easily alter across dieting phases to keep progressing towards our body composition goals.
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