Fig. 3

Conceptual model for autoregulation of body composition during weight recovery depicting the various control systems involved, namely: (i) the intrinsic control of energy partitioning between fat-free mass (FFM) and fat compartments, which determines the partitioning characteristic (Pc) of the individual as a function of initial percentage body fat (or fat: FFM ratio); (ii) the adipose-specific control of thermogenesis, which specifically accelerates fat recovery; (iii) the ‘non-specific’ control of thermogenesis, which functions as an attenuator of energy imbalance and is dictated by the food energy flux rather than by fat depletion, and (iv) the hunger-appetite drive leads to hyperphagia, the magnitude of which is determined by the extent to which body fat and FFM are depleted. Adapted from Dulloo and Jacquet [13]