Center for Energy Balance

The Center for Energy Balance in Cancer Prevention and Survivorship was founded to help bridge the gaps in knowledge surrounding the relationships between physical activity, nutrition, obesity, and cancer. 

The Center uses advancements in the energy balance research field to improve interventions which modify unhealthy behaviors in people at risk for cancer, patients and survivors, and to deliver innovative change at the clinical level. 

By fostering a collaborative, trans-disciplinary environment, our research will advance the science related to:

• cancer prevention and survivorship–related interventions;
• the ways in which key energy balance concepts affect cancer biomarkers; and
• the biological and psychosocial mechanisms behind weight, eating behavior, and physical activity. 
   

The National Cancer Institute gives an overview of "what is energy balance?":

"Energy balance refers to the integrated effects of diet, physical activity, and genetics on growth and body weight over an individual's lifetime. Scientists are increasingly aware of the importance of understanding the effects of energy balance on the development and progression of cancer and on cancer patients' quality of life after treatment. Weight, body composition, physical activity, and diet affect many physiologic systems and can alter the cancer process at many points."  Learn more on the National Cancer Institute's website.