There exists in nature many examples of systems presenting self-limiting
behaviour: population dynamics, structure engineering, Townsend's electron
breakdown, nuclear decay in radioactive equilibrium, histeresis process,
meteorological models, etcetera. In this work we call attention to the
advantages the use of a variational formulation should provide to the study of
self-regulated systems, such as a unified description of the related phenomena,
further comprehension of the internal structure and symmetries of the related
equations, and the determination of the equilibria points via the energy
function. We study the case of logistic systems, obtaining explicitly several
s-equivalent Lagrangeans corresponding to the Verhulst's equation. Some
dynamical properties are discussed in the light of this approach. Expressions
for the mean energy function are also obtained. Keywords: logistic equation,
Verhulst's Lagrangean, self-regulated systems. PACS: 02.30.Zz, 45.20.Jj,
87.23.Cc