Exploring the Need for Functional
Clothing to Optimise Metabolic
Consumption
Lindsay D’Arcy , Mike Fray , and Jo Barnes
1 Introduction
To maintain a stable body weight, energy intake must equal energy expenditure, a state
known as energy balance [1]. However, a wealth of knowledge supports the notion
that physical activity has significantly declined over the past century [2]. Sedentary
occupations, the rise of technology and motorised transportation have made life more
convenient than ever and thus, the drive for saving time, has consequently decreased
the metabolic energy requirements to overcome every day, non-exercise activities [3].
Large numbers of people are expending less than they consume and consequently,
increasing rates of obesity reflect this lack of energy balance [1]. It is more difficult
to maintain an energy balance in the modern environment where every day, voluntary
and spontaneous lifestyle physical activity is not a given. Intervention is therefore
required to reclaim the energy expenditures that were once a given through every
day, physically active lives. Purposeful exercise is widely adopted as a method to
increase energy expenditure, however, barriers to exercise are experienced by many
and typically depend on age, health conditions, body mass index, etc. Younger adults
generally cite lack of time as their main constraint to exercise [4], and elderly people
most frequently cite poor health as their leading barrier, such as fear of injury or
falling [5]. Overweight women generally cite feeling too overweight to exercise
[6], feeling body conscious [7] and lacking the confidence to exercise in the gym
environment [8], thus overweight adults exhibit lower levels of adherence to exercise
than normal-weight adults [9]. Nevertheless, in recent years, researchers have stressed
the importance of non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT) contributions to the
energy balance and physiology weight control [3]. The extensive list of activities
contributing to NEAT include occupational tasks, sitting, standing, walking, talking,
L. D’Arcy (B) · M. Fray · J. Barnes
Loughborough University, Loughborough L11 3TU, UK
e-mail: l.darcy@lboro.ac.uk
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
A. Majumdar et al. (eds.), Functional Textiles and Clothing 2020,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-9376-5_5
43
Clothing to Optimise Metabolic
Consumption
Lindsay D’Arcy , Mike Fray , and Jo Barnes
1 Introduction
To maintain a stable body weight, energy intake must equal energy expenditure, a state
known as energy balance [1]. However, a wealth of knowledge supports the notion
that physical activity has significantly declined over the past century [2]. Sedentary
occupations, the rise of technology and motorised transportation have made life more
convenient than ever and thus, the drive for saving time, has consequently decreased
the metabolic energy requirements to overcome every day, non-exercise activities [3].
Large numbers of people are expending less than they consume and consequently,
increasing rates of obesity reflect this lack of energy balance [1]. It is more difficult
to maintain an energy balance in the modern environment where every day, voluntary
and spontaneous lifestyle physical activity is not a given. Intervention is therefore
required to reclaim the energy expenditures that were once a given through every
day, physically active lives. Purposeful exercise is widely adopted as a method to
increase energy expenditure, however, barriers to exercise are experienced by many
and typically depend on age, health conditions, body mass index, etc. Younger adults
generally cite lack of time as their main constraint to exercise [4], and elderly people
most frequently cite poor health as their leading barrier, such as fear of injury or
falling [5]. Overweight women generally cite feeling too overweight to exercise
[6], feeling body conscious [7] and lacking the confidence to exercise in the gym
environment [8], thus overweight adults exhibit lower levels of adherence to exercise
than normal-weight adults [9]. Nevertheless, in recent years, researchers have stressed
the importance of non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT) contributions to the
energy balance and physiology weight control [3]. The extensive list of activities
contributing to NEAT include occupational tasks, sitting, standing, walking, talking,
L. D’Arcy (B) · M. Fray · J. Barnes
Loughborough University, Loughborough L11 3TU, UK
e-mail: l.darcy@lboro.ac.uk
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
A. Majumdar et al. (eds.), Functional Textiles and Clothing 2020,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-9376-5_5
43