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Body Weight Simulator


The Body Weight Simulator was developed by Dr. Kevin Hall’s research group at the NIDDK and was published as part of The Lancet series on obesity:

Hall KD, Sacks G, Chandramohan D, Chow CC, Wang YC, Gortmaker SL, Swinburn BA. Quantification of the effect of energy imbalance on bodyweight. Lancet. 2011 Aug 27;378(9793):826-37. (PMID:21872751)

Please reference this paper when publishing material using the Body Weight Simulator. Full description of the model equations can be found in Dynamic Mathematical Model of Body Weight Change in Adults (PDF, 244Kb) document.

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Video providing a brief introduction to the body weight simulator, an online tool for obesity researchers and weight management professionals to better understand how diet and exercise quantitatively contribute to weight loss and weight loss maintenance. To optimize viewing, your media player should be set to high resolution and the video should be viewed in full screen mode.


This information is for general research use only and is not intended to provide personal medical advice or substitute for the advice of a physician or weight management professional. If you have specific questions about the information presented, concerns about individual health matters or body weight management, please consult your physician.




The first time the simulator is launched on your computer, your web browser will request that the applet be given access to your computer. This is required so that simulation results can be cut and pasted from the tabulated data.


The simulator requires that Java is installed to run. Please download the free installer. Exit Disclaimer



The Body Weight Simulator application has been validated to run in the following environments:

  • Windows 7 operating system using IE 8.0 and 9.0, Firefox 12.0/19.0, and Google Chrome 19.0/25.0.1
  • Windows XP PRO operating system using IE 7.0, Firefox 12.0, and Google Chrome 19.0
  • Mac OS X v10.6.8 (Lion) using Firefox 12.0/18.0.2 and Safari 5.1.4/5.1.7


Recommendations for Mac Users:
OS X 10.7 (Lion) disables java (even the most recent version of java) inside browsers. It's necessary to exit the browser, go to /Applications/Utilities in the Finder and click on Java Preferences.app (or type "open -a Java\ Preferences" in a terminal), click "Enable applet plug-in and Web Start Applications," and restart the browser.

The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) and the NIH Office for Intramural Research are committed to providing access to all individuals - disabled or not - who are seeking information from their programs. To provide this information, the Body Weight Simulator has been designed to conform to Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (as amended). Section 508 requires that all individuals with disabilities (whether they are federal government employees or members of the general public) have access to and use of information and data comparable to that provided to individuals without disabilities, unless an undue burden would be imposed. This website has been designed and tested for Section 508 conformance and accessibility, while acknowledging that both may be a work-in-progress.


Persons using assistive technology may not be able to fully access graphical representations of the Body Weight Simulator. However, all data is available and accessible in its raw form.


Any individual using assistive technology (such as a screen reader, Braille reader, speech recognition software, etc.) who experiences difficulty in accessing information on this site should contact Dr. Kevin Hall (NIDDK), placing "Accessibility/Section 508 Conformance" in the subject line. The nature of the accessibility problem and contact information should be included in any e-mail message. If the accessibility problem involves a particular Web page, including the URL (Web address) of the page would be helpful. A member of the Laboratory of Biological Modeling - (LBM) staff will contact individuals with accessibility problems as soon as possible to assist them and to provide them the information sought.


If you find that you are still having issues running the Body Weight Simulator, please send an email to Dr. Kevin Hall (NIDDK) and indicate whether you are using a PC or a MAC, what operating system and version, and which browser and version, and the nature of the problem(s) you encountered.


Last Updated: 04/04/2012


Director: Griffin P. Rodgers, M.D., M.A.C.P.
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