Metabolism and Its Relationship with Weight Gain

Metabolism is a physical and chemical process occurring naturally in the body to sustain life. To give you a better view on its relationship with weight gain, you should be able to understand these two important aspects of metabolism: metabolic rate and the factors affecting metabolism.

Metabolism is the rate at which your body is capable of using energy as well as burning your calories. Metabolism functions the same way in every individual. However, the rate at which the nutrients are metabolizes vary per person. Here are the two aspects of metabolism to help you in fully understanding its connection with weight gain:

Metabolic rate
BMR or basal metabolic rate is the given rate at which the body is able to burn the calories while it is at rest. To get your BMR, you multiply your current weight by ten (10). If your weight is 150 pounds, then you have a BMR of 1,500. Meaning to say your metabolism can exhaust about 1,500 calories per day. Taking more than 1,500 calories a day would result to weight gain. Although, this is just an approximation. Regular exercise speeds up metabolism making it a good way of impeding weight gain. Those who have a high metabolic rate has the ability to burn more calories compared to someone who has slow metabolic rate. Even if two individuals take in more or less the same amount of calories, the one with the higher metabolic rate will surely burn fast and more calories from the food intake. The one whose metabolism is slower, will eventually not burn all the calories. Instead, the excess calories would be converted into fats resulting to an increase in body weight.

Factors affecting metabolism
There are a number of factors affecting the metabolism process in your body. Generally, they also affect every person’s needs in terms of calorie intake. Below are the following factors contributing to metabolism:

• genetics – there are people who are simply born with a body that is capable of burning more calories.
• age – those above 40 will notice a decrease in their metabolic rate by 5% every ten years. this is primarily due to a certain degree of change in the hormonal balance.
• gender – it is observed that men have higher metabolism compared to women.
• height – shorter individuals are most likely to have slower metabolic rates than taller individuals.
• body composition – individuals with more muscles and more body weight have the tendency to have higher metabolic rates than those with thinner built.
• activity – the more you move, the better it is for your metabolism. Engaging in exercise activities will promote an increase in metabolism.

It is a never ending thrust for body conscious individuals, especially women, to lose weight and eliminate body fat. Engaging in various weight loss programs can be burdensome and costly.