Your metabolism is the sum of all the chemical reactions involved in your body's growth and development. A complex network of hormones and enzymes converts the food you eat into fuel and affects how efficiently you burn that fuel. The rate at which you burn calories determines whether you have a normal, low or high metabolism.
Basal Metabolic Rate
Your basal metabolic rate is the number of calories you burn per day at rest. Everyone burns calories at a different rate, depending on age, gender, body size, body fat percentage, genetics, thyroid health, stress levels and overall health. Your metabolism naturally slows about 5 percent per decade after age 40. Men generally have a higher metabolism than women, and more muscular people tend to have faster metabolic rates. Your basal metabolic rate can be measured in a lab setting using gas analysis, or a rough estimate can be arrived at using an equation based on age, sex, weight and height.
Exercise Raises Metabolism
Exercising is the best way to raise your metabolism, according to Joanne Knowlton, leader of the Nutrition Connections Program at the University of New Hampshire. Your body demands more energy during exercise, so your metabolism is temporarily increased to meet those demands, and it remains elevated for several hours. Strength training builds muscle, and the more muscle you have, the higher your resting metabolic rate. According to Knowlton, a pound of muscle burns 35 calories a day, while a pound of fat burns just 2 calories a day.
Diet Affects Metabolism
The way you eat dramatically affects your metabolic rate. Eating breakfast helps to jump-start your metabolism, and eating five or six smaller meals keeps your metabolism in constant working mode throughout the day. Skipping meals and severe dieting will slow your metabolism to a screeching halt. Restricting calories excessively tells your body to conserve energy, so it slows down your metabolism and you burn fewer calories.
High Metabolism Not Necessarily Healthy
Having a high metabolism may mean that you will burn more calories and lose weight more quickly than someone with a normal metabolism, but there are also unfavorable consequences. Functioning at a faster metabolic rate means "faster energy turnover and greater production of free radicals, leading to increased oxidative damage," says Joel Fuhrman, M.D., in the Huffington Post. Having a high metabolism does not mean you are healthier and may mean you are aging more quickly.
References
- The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Nutrition Research Institute: Fat and Thin: How Metabolism Works
- University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension; Making the Most of Your Metabolism; Joanne Knowlton
- University of Utah College of Health: Resting Metabolic Rate Information
- Korr Medical Technologies: MetaCheck Metabolic Rate Analysis System
- Huffington Post; A Fast Metabolism Could Make You Age More Quickly; Joel Fuhrman, M.D.; June 2011
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