It’s in Your Hands to Revitalize Metabolism

Prof. Dr. Murat Baş – Expert Dietitian

Many of us, especially when struggling with our weight loss goals, blame our “metabolism”: “My metabolism is too slow,” we say. So is metabolism really the culprit?

3 Important Things That Determine Your Metabolism

Metabolism refers to the process of converting the calories you eat into energy to sustain all functions in your body.

Your metabolism determines the number of calories you can eat all day and maintains your weight. Metabolism is affected by three main things:

Basal metabolic rate (BMR):  It indicates the amount of energy required to operate the body and maintain the continuity of functions in a fasted state at rest. Gender, age, body muscle mass, body size, genetics and health-related factors affect basal metabolic rate. Basal metabolic rate accounts for 60-70% of the total calories you burn each day.

Activity level:  Specifies the amount of calories you consume during exercise. Your activity level accounts for approximately 20% of the total calories you burn each day.

Thermogenesis of food:  It refers to the calories required for the digestion and absorption of food by the body. It accounts for approximately 10% of the total calories you burn each day.

Anything that affects the three important determinants of metabolism mentioned above will change the amount of calories you need to maintain your body weight.

The basal metabolic rate is adaptable and increases or decreases to meet your body’s needs. For example; In case of an infection or fever, the metabolism burns more calories for the healing process.

Or, in case of long-term hunger, the body tends to burn fewer calories in order to use the required energy more efficiently.

Effects of Aging on Metabolism

If you are a healthy adult, your metabolism is most likely working well. Aging is a process that works for everyone, and basal metabolic rate generally begins to decrease with aging. So why?

Naturally, the basal metabolic rate is at its highest level during childhood and adolescence, when growth and development are fastest. Because basically we need extra calories to reach adulthood and mature.

When we reach our twenties, this stage is completed and basal metabolism enters a certain order. The tendency that occurs after these ages is weight gain, which gradually progresses over the years.

Research conducted; It reveals that weight gain trends are generally completed within 20 years. As a result of a study involving 120,000 participants, scientists; They determined that the participants gained approximately 1.5 kg in each four years, resulting in a weight gain of 7.6 kg over 20 years.

The biggest problem is not so much weight gain, but the type of weight we gain as we age. While most of us lose lean muscle mass, fat mass increases.

Typically, in an adult, muscle mass accounts for approximately 50% of the total body weight, and by the time the individual reaches the age of 75-80, this amount decreases to 25% of the total body weight. The decrease in lean muscle mass reduces the basal metabolic rate.

Because the body tends to take in more energy to maintain the fat mass it has gained. But it is necessary to mention a point here; It is a good thing to have a protective amount of fat in old age.

For this reason, adults aged 65 and over are recommended to keep their body mass index between 25-27 kg/m2 instead of 20-25 kg/m2. Of course, the goal is to preserve as much muscle mass as possible.