Why does the metabolic rate drop as you age?
Your basal metabolic rate - the number of calories your body burns each day just to stay alive - tends to drop as you age.
According to conventional wisdom, this is because you lose a small amount of muscle each year.
However, many people don't realize that muscle mass is not the only thing that affects your basal metabolic rate.
The age-related decline in metabolic rate - even when muscle mass is taken into account - is because of two reasons.
•Firstly is exercise, the more exercise you do, the higher your metabolic rate. The fact that people tend to exercise less as they age is partly responsible for the drop in metabolic rate.
• Second, metabolic rate is also linked to total calorie intake. This means that the more you eat, the higher your metabolic rate. A reduced metabolic rate in older physically active men could be due to the fact they eat less than their younger counterparts.
The bottom line is that a drop in your metabolic rate is not an inevitable consequence of aging, and has a lot more to do with the way you live your life.
You can minimize the age-related drop in metabolic rate by maintaining a high energy flux - balancing a nutrient-dense diet with regular exercise.
Not only will this help you stay lean, it's a great way to provide your body with more of the vitamins, minerals and other nutrients it needs to stay healthy.
According to conventional wisdom, this is because you lose a small amount of muscle each year.
However, many people don't realize that muscle mass is not the only thing that affects your basal metabolic rate.
The age-related decline in metabolic rate - even when muscle mass is taken into account - is because of two reasons.
•Firstly is exercise, the more exercise you do, the higher your metabolic rate. The fact that people tend to exercise less as they age is partly responsible for the drop in metabolic rate.
• Second, metabolic rate is also linked to total calorie intake. This means that the more you eat, the higher your metabolic rate. A reduced metabolic rate in older physically active men could be due to the fact they eat less than their younger counterparts.
The bottom line is that a drop in your metabolic rate is not an inevitable consequence of aging, and has a lot more to do with the way you live your life.
You can minimize the age-related drop in metabolic rate by maintaining a high energy flux - balancing a nutrient-dense diet with regular exercise.
Not only will this help you stay lean, it's a great way to provide your body with more of the vitamins, minerals and other nutrients it needs to stay healthy.
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