Basal Metabolism

Basal Metabolism or Basal Metabolism rate is the rest metabolism rate of body. It is the rate at which body burns energy just to stay alive. Roughly it is metabolism performed to release amount of the energy to keep body functioning if it is asleep 24 hours a day. This energy is used by various essential body functions such as circulation of blood, building and breaking of cells, keeping body temperature normal and sending/receiving nerve signals to and fro from brain. Basal metabolism accounts for 3/4th of total energy required by the body.

Factors Affecting Basal Metabolism

Age: Basal Metabolism is high in younger ages and slows as body grows old
Height: Tall and thing people have high BMR
Growth: Children and Pregnant women have high BMR
Body Tissues: More lean muscle tissues cause higher BMR, while more fat muscle tissues reduces it
Fever: Fever generally raises BMR
Stress: Stress decreases the BMR
Temperature: Extreme temperature condition raises BMR
Fasting/Starvation: Fasting, dieting or starvation reduces BMR
Malnutrition: Malnutrition causes reduction in BMR
Gender: Men have higher BMR than woman.

Energy Flux in BMR

Energy Flux is under-link among basal metabolic rate, exercise volume and direct energy intake. It represents the total flow of energy through the body.

If the energy flux is high it signifies a higher calorie intake, one which needs to be balanced with higher exercise to keep the basal metabolism rate normal.

If the energy flux is low it indicates lower calorie intake, one that would reduce the need of exercise or physical workout to keep basal metabolism normal.

Therefore it is recommended that to maintain a normal BMR and health, a balance among the parameters should be reached.

Age and BMR

BMR tends to fall as people grow old. The general conception is that this is due to difference in muscle mass in the younger age and old age. However there are two real reasons for this decline in BMR

With advancing age, people reduce their physical activity leading to slowing of metabolism.
The reduction in diet and food intake in advanced age also reduces metabolism rate.

This indicates that drop in metabolic rate in later years is not a consequence of aging and it is actually related to the way people live their life.

The age related drop in BMR can be minimized and maintained by high energy flux that balances a nutrient rich diet with regular exercise.

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