Energy Balance Teaching Tool for Community Use: What University Nutrition Faculty and Community Nutrition Educators Want

The concept of energy balance is used by dietitians/nutritionists to educate individuals of all ages about healthy weight management. However, energy balance concept is more complex than subtracting energy intake from energy expenditure. It is often‐overlooked at the variety of known and unknown factors influencing dynamic energy balance, such as increasing in resting metabolic rate results in increases in energy expenditure in a healthy individual. Currently, limited research has examined how nutrition professionals assess a participants’ understanding of energy balance when teaching community weight management classes. This pilot study explored the professional's perception of the energy balance concept as a teaching tool for clients/patients. University nutrition faculty members and community nutrition educators with experience teaching weight management classes (n=11) participated in individual qualitative face‐to‐face interviews (30–45 min). The interview covered five main topics related to their perceptions of the energy balance model for teaching, which included discussions on dynamic vs. static energy balance; factors that change energy intake, physical activity, body weight, and appetite during weight loss and maintenance. All participants reported that teaching energy balance concepts were crucial for helping clients/patients understand the role of diet and physical activity in weight maintenance. They emphasize the need for energy balance teaching tools and communicating the importance of physical activity for maintaining a high energy flux. Future studies should include focus groups with participants in community nutrition and weight management programs and the testing of new and different energy balance teaching tools to improve the understanding of dynamic energy balance, and the role of diet and physical activity in energy flux. Support or Funding Information None