Metabolic Function: What is it?
- Brooke Pryor
- Jan 18, 2018
- 2 min read
Metabolic function is essential to any health and fitness goal but many people don’t know what it really is. A common misconception is that being plus-size is the cause of a low metabolism. However this is not always the case, just because you are capable of gaining weight does not mean you have a low metabolism.
An individual’s metabolism is dictated by a variety of factors such as body composition (higher lean mass), hormones, stress, medication, genetics, and exercise plus many other factors. The metabolism is a process which the cells of our body use nutrients to produce or use energy to maintain our bodily functions and cells/tissues. Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) is the rate of energy consumption required for the vital organs (heart, lungs, brain etc.) to maintain vital function.
The metabolism consists of two states catabolism (breaking down molecules into smaller components for the synthesis of energy) and anabolism (rebuilding of cells using the smaller components which uses energy and is powered by catabolism). These two components work together to maintain the body’s homeostasis (natural balance). Excessive consumption of food results in a higher rate of energy production to energy use resulting in weight gain because the body’s cells have no use for the extra energy components so it is stored for later use in the form of fat. Under consumption of energy results in a decrease in resting metabolic rate of up to 50% and puts the body into an a higher rate of energy use compared to energy production, the body’s cells have no accesses to energy components to maintain themselves, so the non-vital tissues (skeletal muscle=voluntarily controllable muscles) of the body are used to maintain the vital tissues cell structure.
Ensuring you are eating enough is just as important as not eating too much when considering daily nutrition.
Reference G. Tortora, & B. Derrickson (2009). Principals of Anatomy and Physiology. (12th edition)
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