Learn the facts about your body’s metabolism, and find out if it is true that a person’s metabolism remains constant throughout life.
Your metabolic rate can be significantly affected by many factors. Although your metabolic rate stays constant, these factors mainly influence changes in your metabolism, not the rate directly. To understand what affects your metabolism and how to boost it, focus on how much energy you use. As you get older, your metabolic rate changes quickly, so it’s helpful to know what’s going on with it now. Interestingly, elderly people often share similarities, such as a slowed metabolism and reduced calorie needs as they age.
Key Takeaway
| Takeaway | Summary |
|---|---|
| Metabolic rate refers to energy used by the body | Physical activity can greatly impact the metabolic rate |
| Metabolism remains constant through most of life | Metabolic rate is the number of calories burned by the body for functions like breathing, blood circulation, tissue repair, etc. It is determined by factors like age, gender, muscle mass etc. |
| Metabolic rate is the number of calories burned by the body for functions like breathing, blood circulation, tissue repair, etc. It is determined by factors like age, gender, muscle mass, etc. | The metabolic rate stays constant from adolescence until later stages of life when organs fail and muscle mass decreases. It does not slow down with age. |
| Body composition affects metabolic rate | More muscle mass increases metabolic rate since it burns more energy than fat. So building muscle via resistance training can increase metabolism. |
| Habits like reducing TV time can raise metabolic rate | Decreasing sedentary behaviors like TV watching can increase metabolic rate as the body burns more calories. |
What is metabolic rate?
Metabolic rate refers to the energy your body uses in a given period. Calories are units of energy, and a calorie measures the potential energy stored in food. Your body uses calories to fuel activities, whether digesting food, circulating blood, or repairing damaged tissue.
Metabolism turns food into energy and substances for growth and repair. It involves all body’s chemical reactions, like breathing and blinking. These reactions break down nutrients for cell absorption.
Your body’s calorie-burning speed (metabolic rate) depends on age, sex, muscle mass, hormones, weight, and height. This rate can change as you get older.
Genetics and Your Metabolic Rate
Genetics play a crucial role in determining your metabolic rate. Even with regular exercise, some people have a slower metabolism compared to others with a faster one. To find out if your metabolism is slow, look at your BMI and waist size. Your diet also impacts your metabolism.
Certain foods can increase your metabolism, while others may decrease it. Foods high in carbohydrates use less energy during digestion. Eating more protein and vegetables is advised to boost your metabolism.
Understanding Hormonal and Genetic Influences on Metabolism
Recent studies and expert opinions show how our hormones, genetics, and metabolic rate are closely linked. Hormonal disorders like hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism can greatly affect metabolism. They can either slow it down or speed it up. These conditions show how important a stable hormonal balance is for metabolism.
Genetics also play an important role in our metabolic rate. Some genetic disorders, such as Phenylketonuria (PKU) or Fructose intolerance, change the way our bodies process food. This leads to special diets and challenges in keeping a balanced energy level. Understanding these factors is key to fully grasping how metabolism works and changes.
Nutrients and Your Metabolic Rate
Most of your body’s energy goes to metabolism. Metabolism takes in oxygen, turns it into energy, and gets rid of waste. Key factors that affect your metabolic rate include how much oxygen you consume, the food you eat, and your activity level.
Your metabolic rate changes quickly as you age. Knowing about your metabolic rate now is very helpful. Many elderly people share similarities. They have a slower metabolism and need fewer calories as they get older.
Exercise and Your Metabolic Rate
Exercise boosts your metabolism, helping you burn calories and maintain a healthy weight. It also increases insulin sensitivity, which can prevent diabetes. Additionally, it lowers the risk of heart disease. High-intensity exercises, often called cardio, require your body to use more oxygen. Examples include running, swimming laps, and using an elliptical trainer.
Metabolism remains constant throughout life.
Metabolism is the sum of all chemical processes in the body. The body’s metabolism consists of two major parts:
- The resting metabolic rate, which is how many calories your body burns when you are resting and,
- The total energy expenditure is how many calories your body burns throughout the day.
The only time that your metabolism slows down is during childhood and adolescence because they have high growth rates. After this point, there are no changes in metabolism until later in life when organs begin to fail, and muscle mass decreases.
How Much Does Physical Activity Affect Metabolic Rate?
Physical activity boosts your metabolism by 5% to 100% above its normal rate. The boost you get depends on the energy your body uses during exercise versus its regular energy use at rest.
Let’s say you walk at 3 mph for 30 minutes and burn 100 extra calories than if you were sitting and watching TV all day. After your walk, your metabolism will go up by around 20% for an hour before it goes back to its usual rate.
How Strenuous Exercises Affect Your Metabolic Rate
Strenuous exercise often boosts your metabolic rate. It’s a key method to alter your metabolic rate and aid in weight loss. The more you exercise, the easier it becomes for your body to enter its resting state. However, this doesn’t mean you should quit exercising. It’s crucial to balance exercise with adequate rest.
How Does Your Body Composition Affect Your Metabolic Rate?
Metabolism is complex and depends on many factors. Your body composition, meaning the mix of muscle and fat you have, is key.
Your basal metabolic rate (BMR) is how many calories you need for basic functions like breathing and digestion while at rest.
Muscle helps your metabolism because it burns more calories than fat. To speed up your metabolism, you should build muscle with resistance training like weight lifting or calisthenics.
Also, a high-protein diet helps in weight loss not just because of the protein. It makes you feel fuller for longer due to the protein and fat in the diet.
Daily Energy Expenditure
Your metabolic rate is the rate at which your body burns calories. It’s the energy your body uses for all of its functions, including breathing, pumping blood, blinking, and digesting food. Your basal metabolic rate is the number of calories your body burns at rest or while sleeping.
The amount of calories you burn daily depends on your weight, height, age, and gender, among other factors. For example, a person who weighs 150 pounds burns about 100 calories per hour just lying in bed. A person weighing 80 pounds burns about 60 calories per hour doing the same thing.
A person’s basal metabolic rate accounts for about 60 to 75 percent of total daily energy expenditure (TDEE). The remaining 25 to 40 percent comes from physical activity (like walking around or lifting things) and non-exercise movement (like fidgeting).
Your Diet and Your Metabolic Rate
So what is the key to increasing your metabolic rate as you age? Exercise, diet, and lifestyle changes are the three best ways to increase your metabolic rate. It’s been shown that people who exercise more have a higher metabolic rate than those who don’t exercise at all. Additionally, dieting can have a major impact on your metabolic rate too. Luckily, there are now diets focusing on improving your metabolism. And if you follow these diets religiously, it can be an incredible way to speed up and improve your metabolism.
Other factors that can affect your metabolic rate include stress and sleep. Stress is one of the most common triggers for unhealthy behaviors like overeating and smoking cigarettes. This can cause high blood pressure, which in turn has a negative effect on your metabolism as well as your heart health. Additionally, lack of sleep has been shown to lead to weight gain and increased abdominal fat levels, among other negative effects on overall health.
Shifting Habits Can Increase or Decrease Your Metabolic Rate
Your metabolic rate usually slows down as you get older. However, you can increase it. One effective method is to watch less TV. Watching TV uses up a lot of time and stops you from burning calories. By not watching TV or cutting down on screen time as you age, your metabolic rate will improve. You will also need fewer calories.
Conclusion
Yes, your metabolic rate, indeed, remains constant throughout your life. But a person’s metabolic rate can be raised by changing how much they work out and what they eat every day. In addition, shifting habits can also increase or decrease your metabolic rate.
References
- https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/metabolism
- https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/surprising-findings-about-metabolism-and-age-202110082613
- https://www.onemedical.com/blog/healthy-living/truth-about-your-metabolism/
- https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/21893-metabolism
- https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/adult-metabolism-remains-stable-until-60-study-reveals
As a veteran fitness technology innovator and the founder of GearUpToFit.com, Alex Papaioannou stands at the intersection of health science and artificial intelligence. With over a decade of specialized experience in digital wellness solutions, he’s transforming how people approach their fitness journey through data-driven methodologies.