What is Metabolism Rate?

Metabolism is a series of chemical reactions by which your body converts what you eat and drink into energy. Even when you are at rest, your body needs energy for functions such as breathing, circulating blood and repairing cells. Food is the primary source of energy used to fuel basic cellular functions for sustaining life, and generate heat (from exercise and food digestion). Excess energy is stored as fat in the body. The rate of calories burned for these basic functions is known as basal metabolic rate (BMR). Hence, the balance between total energy consumed from food and total energy expended is important in controlling body weight. As a person’s body mass is influenced by its energy expenditure, the total dietary energy intake can be adjusted based on individual needs. For instance, if you have a high metabolism rate and intend to gain body weight, a high-calorie diet is suitable because the body requires more calories to burn. Studies have also shown that the genes you inherit partly determine your BMR.

How It Affects Your Body

There are several factors that influence the BMR, including gender, hormonal changes, body composition and age.

BMR is generally higher for men than women, decreases with increasing age, and is lower in overweight adults as compared to normal weight adults. The higher muscle mass you have, the more calories will be burned, even at rest.

Having said that, men who have higher muscle mass, not body fat, are more likely to have a faster metabolic rate. However, as you get older, your muscle mass decreases, which slows down the rate at which you burn calories.

Our bodies can also sense starvation by the lack of food intake. In response, the BMR slows down, which means fewer calories will burn over time. That is why losing weight may seem exceptionally difficult sometimes.