Metabolism is a weighty issue in fight to stay slim
YOU may have heard people blame a slow metabolism for weight-loss struggles.
The general idea is if you’ve been blessed with an overactive or fast metabolism, you can eat more, work out less and still maintain a svelte figure.
Metabolism is an umbrella term used to describe different metabolic reactions that occur in the body.
Dr Sarah Brewer, medical director at Healthspan said: “These reactions do a variety of things – such as generate energy, regulate growth, repair and general body maintenance.”
Think of it like the engine that keeps your body running. If you laid in bed all day and didn’t move a muscle, the calories you burn just from staying alive would be what is known as your “basal metabolic rate”.
This explains why, if you wear an activity tracker, you might see a fairly hefty calorie burn for the hours you’ve been asleep in bed.
The speed of your metabolism is judged on the number of calories you burn in a given amount of time. On top of your basal rate, how fast your internal engine runs is based on how many calories it takes to digest and process food, undertake exercise and perform activities such as fidgeting, changing posture, standing and walking around.
The faster your metabolism, the more calories your body needs. This is the reason some people can eat a lot without gaining weight, while others seem to need less to accumulate fat.
Dr Brewer said: “The rate at which you burn calories depends on your age, gender, hormone balance, level of physical activity, and diet and lifestyle.
“It also depends on your weight. In general, the more you weigh, the higher your resting metabolic rate.”
Eating protein-based foods uses up more energy and generates more heat during processing than fat and carbohydrates. If you have a slower metabolism, you’ll burn less glucose and fat, and may gain weight if your energy intake is more than your energy expenditure.
Dr Brewer said: “Weight is put on more easily in later years because of changes in your body and lifestyle.
“The most significant change is loss of lean muscle tissue, which is mostly replaced with fat.
“Resting metabolism also slows by about five per cent every 10 years after age 25 and as a result, your daily need for calories goes down.
“By the time a woman is 75, she needs about 300 calories less per day than when she was 18, and 130 calories less per day than when she was 50.
“The difference is greater in men, who need about 655 fewer calories per day at age 75 than when they were 18.”
If you’re concerned about rapid weight loss or gain, speak to your GP.
In general, weight is put on more easily in later years