Metabolic Rate

Metabolic Rate

Metabolic rate is the total amount of energy produced and used by the body per unit of time. Metabolic rate is usually estimated by mea-suring the amount of oxygen used per minute. One liter of oxygen consumed by the body is estimated to produce 4.825 kcal of energy.

 Metabolic energy can be used in three ways: for basal metabo-lism, for muscle contraction, and for the assimilation of food, which involves processes such as the production of digestive enzymes and the active transport of digested molecules. The basal metabolicrate (BMR) is the energy needed to keep the resting body func-tional. It is the metabolic rate calculated in expended kilocalories per square meter of body surface area per hour. BMR is measured when a person is awake but restful and has not eaten for 12 hours. A typical BMR for a 70-kg (154-lb) male is 38 kcal/m2/hour.

 Basal metabolism supports active transport mechanisms, muscle tone, maintenance of body temperature, beating of the heart, and other activities. A number of factors can affect the BMR. Males have a higher BMR than females, younger people have a higher BMR than older people, and fever can increase BMR. Greatly reduced kilocaloric input, as occurs during dieting or fasting, depresses the BMR.

 The daily input of energy should equal the energy demands of metabolism; otherwise, a person will gain or lose weight. For a 23-year-old, 70-kg (154-lb) male to maintain his weight, the input should be 2700 kcal/day; for a 58-kg (128-lb) female of the same age, 2000 kcal/day are necessary. A pound of body fat contains about 3500 kcal. Reducing kilocaloric intake by 500 kcal/day can result in the loss of 1 lb of fat per week. Clearly, adjusting kilocaloric input is an important way to control body weight.

 The other way to control weight is through energy expendi-ture. Physical activity through skeletal muscle movement (exer-cise) greatly increases the metabolic rate. In the average person, basal metabolism accounts for about 60% of energy expenditure, muscular activity 30%, and assimilation of food about 10%. Of these amounts, energy loss through muscular activity is the only component that a person can reasonably control. Comparing the number of kilocalories gained from food and the number of kilocalories burned during exercise reveals why losing weight is difficult. For example, if brisk walking uses 225 kcal/h, it takes 20 minutes of brisk walking to burn off the 75 kcal in one slice of bread (75/225 = 0.33 h). Research suggests that a combina-tion of appropriate physical activity and appropriate kilocaloric intake is the best approach to maintaining a healthy body com-position and weight.