Basal Metabolic Rate is the amount of energies that a body require to maintain essential functions while a person is at rest. Basal Metabolic Rate includes the energy needed for breathing, the energy needed for circulating blood, and the energy needed for maintain organ function. Basal Metabolic Rate serves as a foundation for a person’s daily caloric needs.
Basal Metabolic Rate isnt a constant number that remain the same throughout a person’s life, because Basal Metabolic Rate typicaly peak in a persons mid-twenties and then begins to decrease. The decrease in Basal Metabolic Rate often occurs because of a process calls sarcopenia. Sarcopenia is the natural loss of muscle mass that begins to accelerate after a person reaches the age of thirty.
How Basal Metabolic Rate Changes with Age and How to Keep It
Muscle tissue is more metabolically active than fat tissue, so the loss of muscle tissue result in a lower Basal Metabolic Rate. If a person lose muscle tissue, the persons body will burn fewer calories even while the person is sleeping. Additionally, gender affect how Basal Metabolic Rate changes over time.
Women often experience a more pronounced drop in Basal Metabolic Rate during middle age because hormonal changes associate with menopause affect how the body stores fat and builds muscle. Because Basal Metabolic Rate decrease as a person ages, a person must change how a person manages food intake. In a person’s twenties, a person may consume high caloric total without significant weight gain, but in a person’s thirties and forties, the margin for caloric error become smaller.
Therefore, a person should of prioritize foods that contains protein and foods that contain fiber. Foods that contain protein help a person to maintain muscle mass, and foods that contain fiber help a person to feel full. Maintaining muscle mass is important because muscle mass help to support a higher Basal Metabolic Rate.
Lifestyle factors also influence how Basal Metabolic Rate function in the body. Chronic stress and poor sleep quality can increase cortisol level in the body, and increased cortisol levels can encourage fat storage and muscle breakdown. Conversely, regular resistance training can help a person to maintain muscle mass.
Resistance training involve lifting weights to challenge the muscles, and challenging the muscles encourage the body to keep calorie burning muscle tissue. If a person maintain muscle tissue, the person helps to protect the Basal Metabolic Rate. A person can use different mathematical formula to estimate Basal Metabolic Rate.
The Mifflin-St Jeor formula is a common mathematical formula used to estimate Basal Metabolic Rate, but the Mifflin-St Jeor formula is only an estimate and does not account for your specific body composition. The Katch-McArdle formula is another formula that focus specifically on lean body mass. Lean body mass is important because lean body mass determine how many calories a person burn.
Ultimately, managing Basal Metabolic Rate require a focus on muscle preservation, hormonal health, and nutrient dense eating.
