Is it your slow metabolism to blame for increased body fat?

Your metabolism refers to the amount of energy or calories your body burns in order to maintain itself. The rate of which your metabolism runs is affected by different factors such as your body composition for example.

This blog will take a look at the relationship between exercise and nutrition and the body’s rate of metabolism.

Through consuming food and drinking liquids we of course are taking on calories which in turn is what enables the body to function. Your metabolism is a complex biochemical process which is constantly working even when your asleep, It maintains hormone function, repairs the bodies cells and circulates the blood.

These functions of your metabolism are referred to as your basal metabolic rate and determines how many calories you burn at rest.

One of the main factors which determine your basal metabolic rate is body mass. People with more muscle mass or people who are overweight will burn up more energy at rest.

Gender is another factor which can shape your metabolism, males usually have more muscle then women, they burn more calories throughout the day. Age also can dictate your metabolism because as we age testosterone levels drop meaning so does the amount of lean muscle tissue which again has a direct affect on the rate of your metabolism.

Factors such as the amount of exercise you do and the types of nutrients you consume will determine how many calories you burn; these two factors are the most variable. The more exercise you do the more calories you burn increasing your metabolism.

Is having a slow metabolism an excuse for gaining body fat?

This is often what people blame their weight gain on is having a slow metabolism. However a slow metabolism isn’t always responsible for an increase in body fat but in fact it’s the amount and quality of calories consumed compared to the calories burned through exercise which is to blame. If this ratio of calories consumed is greater then calories burned your body will not use it so it will be stored as fat around the body.

Leaner people have less body fat not necessarily because they have a fast metabolism but because they are more active. Having a slow metabolism is actually quite rare and doesn’t usually lead to obesity. Instead factors leading to obesity, weight gain and poor body composition are low activity levels, eating too many low quality calories, unhealthy habits, and lack of sleep and skipping meals.