Energy balance: a crucial issue for exercise and sports medicine
Non-communicable chronic diseases (NCDs), such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, obesity and type 2 diabetes, are clearly the leading public health problems facing the world in the 21st century. The causes of NCDs are predominately unhealthful lifestyles such as physical inactivity, poor diets, smoking, unhealthful sleep habits and not managing stress effectively.1 In recent years, obesity rates have increased in most countries, and this problem receives enormous attention, in both the popular media and scientific press. The fundamental cause of increasing rates of obesity is too many people being in a positive energy balance on too many days; but the problem is very complex. (Editorial)