Lifestyle Is a Likely Factor For The Decline In Metabolism Rather Than Age

Usually, a middle-aged person who has been steadily putting on weight over the years attributes the weight gain to age-related decline in metabolism but, research suggests that the poor lifestyle of the individual is more likely to be the factor for weight gain rather than age.

Lifestyle Is a Likely Factor For The Decline In Metabolism Rather Than Age

Metabolic rate is the rate at which the body burns calories to keep on functioning. A paper published in Science suggests that while people blame age for slow metabolism, the data that they collected suggest otherwise. In the study, 6,500 people ranging in age from infant to elderly were analyzed, and it was found that the resting metabolism holds steady between the age of 20 to 60 years and then starts to decline at the rate of 1% every year.

The study concluded that a decline in metabolism rate resulting in weight gain is more about lifestyle than age. The lifestyle of an individual can affect the ability to metabolize fat, maximize the calorific burn from exercise, increase energy building muscle mass, etc. This means that every individual has the capability to boost their metabolism with a healthy and good lifestyle regardless of their age.

Regular exercise and keeping the body active can help maintain weight by keeping the metabolism rate under check. Not just exercise but eating the right things that provide nutrition to the body and proper rest is just as important. Some of the science-backed ways to boost metabolism include:

1. Staying active throughout the day

Reduction in physical activity directly results in a reduction in metabolism rate, thus an increase in the weight of an individual. Being sedentary significantly reduces fat metabolism.

Professor Edward Coyle of the University of Texas has found out in his research that taking at least 8,500 steps throughout the day rather than in one burst helps maintain fat metabolism. The data collected by him suggests that doing short bursts of exercise every hour throughout the day can increase fat metabolism by around 50%.

• Doing the correct exercises

Strength training and High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) have been proved to be the most effective for maintaining fat metabolism.

HIIT is a training style that involves intensive exercise with elevated heart rates alternated with recovery periods. This helps reduce body fat by 17% and has been proved to be more effective for burning belly fat than other exercises.

Strength training on the other hand is used for building up muscle mass which is directly linked to increases in metabolic rate.

To maximize the metabolic rate through exercise, one should mix up their weekly workout sessions to include both HIIT and strength training sessions and one needs to break long periods of sedentary time as well.

• Drink lots of water and consume protein in adequate amount

Eating protein is necessary for building muscle and repair of the same. It also helps avoid a reduction in fat metabolism that occurs while dieting so a diet should include optimum amounts of protein.

Research shows that drinking water can also help enhance metabolism. Drinking half a liter of water can increase resting metabolism by 24% for an hour.

• Get the rest you need

As much as exercise is important for the body, recovery is equally important. Good sleep helps the body recover well and restores all processes that are required for the body to function, thereby avoiding a breakdown due to too much activity.

Lack of sleep has a negative effect on the metabolism of the individual.

The metabolism of an individual is thus in the hands of an individual. To boost their metabolism, all they need to do is have a healthy lifestyle.