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M is for Metabolism
Metabolism - is “the ongoing interrelated series of chemical interactions taking place in living organisms that provide the energy and nutrients needed to sustain life”.
Many people make comment about their ‘slow’ or ‘fast’ metabolism where they are actually referring to their basal metabolic rate (BMR). BMR is one of the three processes that account for our total energy expenditure (the other two are physical activity (PA) and thermogenesis (the energy used to break down food and maintain our body temperature).
BMR accounts for 65-70% of our total energy expenditure and physical activity makes up another 20-25% with thermogenesis accounting for only 10%. Factors that increase our BMR include gender (males higher BMR than females – due to muscle mass and size), greater body weight, greater muscle mass, pregnancy, illness and some medical conditions.
If our total energy intake (calories or kilojoules from food) exceeds the total amount of energy required for our BMR, PA and thermogenesis – we will gain weight. Therefore without changing our gender or becoming pregnant or sick it is important to include physical activity in our daily lives to promote muscle development and increase our energy expenditure in order to maintain a healthy body weight and/or lose weight.
