Perhaps the greatest myth about metabolism is that it slows down
with age and there is nothing you can do about it.
Here's the truth:
For the most part, you control your metabolism. How? Exercise! It's as
simple as that. Including weight bearing activity into your exercise program
is ideal not only to increase bone density, but also to help increase the
body's metabolism.
Muscle is very active tissue with high energy requirements. Even while we
sleep, our skeletal muscles are responsible for more than 25 % of our total
calorie use. An increase in muscle tissue causes a corresponding increase
in our metabolic rate. Likewise, a decrease in muscle tissue causes a
corresponding decrease in our metabolic rate. The gradual loss of muscle
tissue in non-training adults leads to a 5 % reduction in metabolic rate every
decade of life! This gradual decrease in metabolism is closely related to the
gradual increase in body fat that typically accompanies the aging process.
When less energy is required for daily metabolic function, calories that were
previously burned by muscle tissue are stored as fat. Although our
metabolism eventually slows down to some degree with age, this and other
degenerative processes can be markedly delayed and even prevented
through regular strength training.
When muscle mass decreases, the result is a decrease in muscular strength
and endurance. For each decaded after the age of 25, 3 % to 5 % of
muscle mass is lost. This is primarily attributed to changes in lifestyle and
the decreased use of the neuromuscular system. However, several recent
studies have reported significant strength gains in previously sedentary
older adults following a program of regular exercise. The changes in body
composition resulting from age are due to a decrease in muscle mass which
in turn is due to a decrease in physical activity. Many people think that they
have not changed their routine from when they were younger. Think about
it. Are you *really* still doing the same things that you did 10 or 20 years
ago? I have heard people tell me that even though they are still active, their
metabolism has slowed down and that is why they have gained 30 pounds.
The truth was that they *thought* that they were still active. If you used to jog
10 miles every other day, but now you walk 5 miles twice per week, that is a
drastic change in activity level. For whatever reason, whether it is a health
issue or just a change in schedule, it is still a change that makes a difference
and it is the cause of a decline in metabolic rate, not your *age* in and of
itself.
Regular physical activity preserves lean body mass, decreases fat stores
and stimulates protein synthesis which reverses the adverse changes in
body composition that is associated with growing older
with age and there is nothing you can do about it.
Here's the truth:
For the most part, you control your metabolism. How? Exercise! It's as
simple as that. Including weight bearing activity into your exercise program
is ideal not only to increase bone density, but also to help increase the
body's metabolism.
Muscle is very active tissue with high energy requirements. Even while we
sleep, our skeletal muscles are responsible for more than 25 % of our total
calorie use. An increase in muscle tissue causes a corresponding increase
in our metabolic rate. Likewise, a decrease in muscle tissue causes a
corresponding decrease in our metabolic rate. The gradual loss of muscle
tissue in non-training adults leads to a 5 % reduction in metabolic rate every
decade of life! This gradual decrease in metabolism is closely related to the
gradual increase in body fat that typically accompanies the aging process.
When less energy is required for daily metabolic function, calories that were
previously burned by muscle tissue are stored as fat. Although our
metabolism eventually slows down to some degree with age, this and other
degenerative processes can be markedly delayed and even prevented
through regular strength training.
When muscle mass decreases, the result is a decrease in muscular strength
and endurance. For each decaded after the age of 25, 3 % to 5 % of
muscle mass is lost. This is primarily attributed to changes in lifestyle and
the decreased use of the neuromuscular system. However, several recent
studies have reported significant strength gains in previously sedentary
older adults following a program of regular exercise. The changes in body
composition resulting from age are due to a decrease in muscle mass which
in turn is due to a decrease in physical activity. Many people think that they
have not changed their routine from when they were younger. Think about
it. Are you *really* still doing the same things that you did 10 or 20 years
ago? I have heard people tell me that even though they are still active, their
metabolism has slowed down and that is why they have gained 30 pounds.
The truth was that they *thought* that they were still active. If you used to jog
10 miles every other day, but now you walk 5 miles twice per week, that is a
drastic change in activity level. For whatever reason, whether it is a health
issue or just a change in schedule, it is still a change that makes a difference
and it is the cause of a decline in metabolic rate, not your *age* in and of
itself.
Regular physical activity preserves lean body mass, decreases fat stores
and stimulates protein synthesis which reverses the adverse changes in
body composition that is associated with growing older
Metabolism
Recommended
reading: Eat, Drink,
and Be Healthy; The
Harvard Medical
School Guide to
Healthy Eating by:
Walter C. Willett, M.D.
reading: Eat, Drink,
and Be Healthy; The
Harvard Medical
School Guide to
Healthy Eating by:
Walter C. Willett, M.D.
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