OnDemand: June 2025 Grand Rounds - Studies of Overfeeding: Lessons for Body Weight Regulation

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On-Demand

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Non-Member: $50.00

Credit Offered

1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit

From the classic studies on “experimental weight gain” done by Ethan Sims, to Claude Bouchard’s studies of long term overfeeding in identical twins, to the more recent studies George Bray and co-workers did overfeeding diets that varied in macronutrient composition, studies using overfeeding as the experimental manipulation have expanded our understanding of how the body regulate weight. Because many of us treat people living with obesity with energy restriction, we have focused much of our attention to the adaptive responses to underfeeding and weight loss. Because weight is regulated, studies of the adaptive responses to overfeeding provide complementary insights that fill out the picture of how the body senses nutrient balance and responds with a wide variety of physiological responses that work to move the body back to a state of energy balance reflecting the homeorhesis of body weight which for most is a trajectory of gradual weight gain through early and midlife.

After participating in this webinar, learners will be able to describe key overfeeding studies and explain how their findings have contributed to our understanding of the physiological mechanisms that regulate body weight and energy balance.

After participating in this webinar, participants will be able to apply insights from overfeeding studies to enhance clinical decision-making when counseling and managing patients living with obesity, recognizing how the body’s adaptive responses to caloric excess influence long-term weight regulation and treatment outcomes.

Daniel H Bessesen, MD, FTOS

Professor of Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz

Dan Bessesen is Professor of Medicine in the Division of Endocrinology at the University of Colorado, School of Medicine. He is the Director of the Anschutz Health and Wellness Center and Director of the University of Colorado Obesity Medicine Fellowship. He is a Past President of The Obesity Society.

The Obesity Society is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

The Obesity Society designates this enduring material for a maximum of 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

ACCME Activity ID 203238608

Date of Release: July 1, 2025
Date of Termination: December 31, 2027

No commercial support was received for this activity.

Daniel Bessesen, MD, FTOS: Researcher relationship with Eli Lilly (Pharmaceuticals), Novo Nordisk (Pharmaceuticals), and Pfizer (Pharmaceuticals).

Jonathan Purnell, MD, FTOS: Consultation relationship with Novo Nordisk (Pharmaceuticals), Boehringer Ingelheim (Pharmaceuticals), and Luciole (Pharmaceuticals).

No members of the TOS CME Oversight Committee, charged with the resolution of all relevant conflicts of interest, had any relevant financial relationships while serving on the committee.

1. Bray GA, Bouchard C. The biology of human overfeeding: A systematic review. Obes Rev. 2020 Sep;21(9): e13040. doi: 10.1111/obr.13040. Epub 2020 Jun 8. PMID: 32515127.

2. Bouchard C, Tremblay A, Despres JP, Poehlman ET, Theriault G, Nadeau A, Lupien P, Moorjani S, Dussault J. Sensitivity to overfeeding: the Quebec experiment with identical twins. Prog Food Nutr Sci. 1988;12(1):45-72. PMID: 3041450.

3. Halliday TM, Rynders CA, Thomas E, Bergouignan A, Pan Z, Kealey EH, Cornier MA, Bessesen DH. Appetite-Related Responses to Overfeeding and Longitudinal Weight Change in Obesity-Prone and Obesity-Resistant Adults. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2020 Feb;28(2):259-267. doi: 10.1002/oby.22687. PMID: 31970906; PMCID: PMC6986307.