Boosting your metabolic rate
INCREASING metabolic rates have been an interest of many, especially among weightconscious individuals. Understanding metabolism is crucial in guiding us to obtain an optimal metabolic rate.
‘Metabole’ is a Greek word for ‘change’. In the context of the human body, metabolism means the conversion of energy intake – consumed food into energy and waste products. Increasing the rate of conversion is believed to increase the rate of burning off body fat. Is this true?
Consultant family medicine and lifestyle medicine physician at MSU Medical Centre Dr Faridah Mohd Zin explains, “Our body consumes energy through four pathways: basal metabolism, food thermogenesis, nonexercise activities thermogenesis (NEAT) and exercise activities thermogenesis (EAT).
“More than half of the body’s metabolism is consumed as basal metabolism i.e., for the function of vital organs such as the heart, kidneys, brain and many others (about 60%). The thermic effect of food has the lowest contribution which involves the energy needed to change the food we eat into substances that are “edible” by our cells such as glucose (about 10%). Increasing the metabolic rate would mean increasing the energy-burning rate of the body, which theoretically could be increased by optimising the NEAT, EAT, thermic effect of food and the body’s metabolism.”
NEAT relates to the energy consumed while performing daily activities. Optimising daily activities such as cooking while standing or pacing around the room while on the phone have shown to increase metabolic rate. Since these activities are done every day, enhancing the energy burnt through this pathway could be regarded as an opportunity that should not be missed. Moreover, NEAT is found to be associated with an improvement in overall health and helps in body fat reduction.
EAT relates to the body’s energy consumption through structured exercise, which primarily includes cardiovascular, strengthening, flexibility and balance exercises. Furthermore, each type should have specific criteria in terms of frequency, intensity, time and types to achieve the different exercise objectives. For example, in maintaining fitness, a total of 150 minutes of cardiovascular exercise per week is recommended, while a longer duration is needed for body weight reduction.
Food thermogenesis contributes the least to body energy consumption. High lean protein and whole foods use more energy compared to other types of food and processed foods. Although consuming them would induce a higher metabolic rate, the contribution made to the increase of daily body metabolism is the lowest.
The major factors contributing to basal metabolic rate include sex, height, age, ethnicity, body composition and genetic factors. Body fat and muscle mass are the only factors that can be intentionally changed.
Total body fat is composed of essential and storage fat. Storage fat is mainly deposited under the skin as subcutaneous fat, or around body organs as visceral fat. The latter has been shown to have a strong correlation with cardiovascular diseases including heart attack and stroke. Energy consumption of more than required would be stored in the body as fat. Hence, a negative balance between energy intake and consumption is essential to force our body to use stored fat as a source of energy, leading to weight reduction. As the origin of stored fat comes from food, an alteration of an individual’s food intake is crucial to achieve
Total body fat is composed of essential and storage fat. Storage fat is mainly deposited under the skin as subcutaneous fat, or around body organs as visceral fat. The latter has been shown to have a strong correlation with cardiovascular diseases.
the desired level of body fat.
Increasing muscle mass would increase the body’s ability to use up energy. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends regular resistance training exercises to build and maintain muscle. Men and women should participate in musclestrengthening activities that work the major muscle groups (legs, hips, back, chest, abdomen, shoulders and arms) at least two times each week. Examples of musclestrengthening activities include lifting weights, using resistance bands, and doing push-ups and some forms of yoga. Even daily activities such as gardening, playing with your kids and carrying the groceries can strengthen muscles.
Although resistance training is an important part of a complete exercise regimen, consuming the appropriate amount and type of protein to maintain and build muscle is just as important. On top of that, a healthy balanced diet is crucial to ensure adequate macro and micronutrients are supplied for a healthy body.
Body metabolism happens continuously, allowing ongoing opportunities to maximise its effect. Body fat is a way our body stores unused energy. Hence, optimising the body’s metabolism while eating less than our body’s daily energy requirement will certainly force our body to burn energy from the stored body fat. Thus, consistency in creating this negative balance in energy will gradually get rid of unwanted body composition, namely the stored fat.