You are probably sitting or lying down as you read this article right now. You may not realize it, but in fact, even now, your body is wasting energy and burning calories because you are breathing, your blood is circulating, your nervous system is active, your digestive system is working. The metabolic system that does all this work is called basal metabolism, and its speed is considered important especially for those who want to lose weight.

Basal metabolic rate can change according to the age, gender and weight of the person, as well as change over time. If we lead a healthy and active life in general, we will burn more calories even when we are standing still, and thus we can achieve weight control in a much healthier way. Let’s start from the basics and see the answers to questions such as what is basal metabolism, what is it for, how to calculate its speed.

First, let’s make a basic definition; What is basal metabolism?

The metabolic system that provides the energy necessary for our body to maintain its vital activities such as breathing at rest, providing blood flow, operating the digestive system, keeping the nervous functions and brain system active, and producing cells is called basal metabolism.

So what exactly does basal metabolism do?

Our body is like a machine that works without stopping for a moment. Even when we leave aside the small details, our heart, brain, kidneys and lungs are working all the time. Since there is a work in question, an energy is required. The system that provides this energy to the body is basal metabolism.

Do not get it wrong, basal metabolism does not mean that our body produces and burns energy on its own. In addition, we must take the nutrients that will be converted into energy into our body. We already spend them on every single move we make. But the main point here is the amount of energy the body uses only to live.

What is basal metabolic rate?

Basal metabolism provides the energy used for our body to live, and basal metabolic rate is the required energy, ie the amount of calories. Basal metabolic rate may vary according to the age, height, weight, gender and lifestyle of the person. In addition to basic life functions, the resting metabolic rate can also be measured by calculating simple movements such as eating and dressing.

Basal metabolic rate will decrease as a person gets older. It is normal to experience a 1 – 2 percent decrease in our basal metabolic rate every ten years, starting from the 20s. Basal metabolism can sometimes make up 75 percent of daily calorie needs. Of course, all these values ​​may vary from person to person.

How is basal metabolic rate calculated for everyone?

There are many different formulas for calculating basal metabolic rate, and when you go to an expert dietitian, your basal metabolic rate can be calculated using one of these formulas. Instead, it is possible to calculate your own basal metabolic rate with the tool you can access via the link here or by using the following formulas of the Harris – Benedict method;

• For women; 655.1 + (9.56 x kilo) + (1.85 x height) – (4.68 x age)
• For men; 66.5 + (13.75 x kilo) + (5.03 x height) – (6.75 x age)

What should the basal metabolic rate be?

Basal metabolic rate may vary according to the age, height, weight and gender of the person, but to give an average value, it is considered normal to be between 1000 – 2200 calories for women and 1200 – 2600 calories for men.

What are the conditions that affect the basal metabolic rate?

• Genetic
• muscle mass
• Age
• Fire
• thyroid hormone

Genetic:

As in many other issues, hereditary factors are extremely important in basal metabolic rate. Some people may genetically have a much higher basal metabolic rate than others.

Muscle mass:

There is a direct relationship between basal metabolic rate and muscle mass because our muscles spend 3 times more energy than fat, even while sleeping. The less fat and the more muscle you have, the higher your basal metabolic rate will be.

Age:

Although there are many different factors that affect the basal metabolic rate, we can say with certainty that the basal metabolic rate will decrease as age progresses. Especially the muscle mass lost as we age has a great effect on this. It is normal for our basal metabolic rate to decrease by 1-2 percent every ten years, starting from the age of 20.

Fire:

Interesting but true, as our body temperature increases, so does our basal metabolic rate. Every 0.5 degree rise in our body temperature increases our basal metabolic rate by 7 percent. Of course, he’s talking about the degrees at which we can continue to stay healthy.

Thyroid hormone:

Thyroid hormone, which is not produced in a healthy way in our body, can be the cause of many problems, as well as reduce our basal metabolic rate. Thyroid hormone, which is not secreted enough, can reduce the basal metabolic rate by exactly 40 percent.

Does basal metabolic rate change, how does it increase?

The issue of health is actually one of the areas that we can control the easiest, but once the end of the rope is gone, we have to go from doctor to doctor. Like many health issues, the basal metabolic rate is in our hands because it is not possible to talk about a fixed rate. The healthier we live, the healthier our basal metabolic rate will increase.

Of course, if there are hormonal or genetic problems, you should definitely be examined by a specialist doctor, but let’s say everything is fine; That’s when you need to do regular exercise, make your sleep pattern the healthiest, eat healthy, pay attention to daily fluid consumption, limit alcohol and quit smoking.

Fine, but what happens if we know our basal metabolic rate?

To be frank, it is not a very important value. Ok, it will give you a baseline figure of how many calories you should consume per day for weight gain and weight loss, but your basal metabolic rate is only a small variable, especially when it comes to weight loss. The main thing is to eat healthy, exercise regularly and at least lead an active life. The next one comes like a stocking ripped anyway.

We answered questions such as what is basal metabolism, which is the system in which our body burns energy even without doing anything, what is it for, how to increase its speed. What we describe is for informational purposes only. Do not forget that you should get the most accurate and specific information about basal metabolism from a specialist physician, as in all health issues.