(ANSA) – ROME, AUGUST 16 – Our body’s metabolism peaks in the first year of life, remains stable until middle age and begins to decline inexorably only after 60.
This was revealed by an unprecedented study conducted by John Speakman, of the University of Aberdeen which involved 6400 individuals in 29 countries and which also dispels some myths about human metabolism, such as the fact that metabolism increases during puberty and in pregnancy or decreases during middle age, leading to gain weight. The experts calculated the metabolism of the sample (composed of small children even only a few days of life up to 95 years old) taking into account the body weight of each, given that the metabolism grows with increasing body size. It emerged that from birth to the first year of life, the metabolism goes from being the same as that of the mother until it reaches a peak that is 50% higher than that of adults. It also emerged that up to the age of 20, metabolism has a minimal slowdown, with no peak during puberty. Finally, there are no metabolic changes between 20 and 60 years; this means that widespread weight gain during middle age is due to excessive caloric intake, not metabolic slowdown. Finally, there is a permanent decline in metabolism, which year after year leads the elderly to have a metabolism that is 26% lower than in middle age. “It’s a picture never seen before, full of surprises – explains Speakman -. The most surprising aspect is that there are no metabolic changes throughout adult life, so if middle-aged people find themselves gaining weight, the blame cannot be made. to attribute to a metabolic slowdown “, but it must be sought in the calorie intake, therefore in the diet.
The study has several implications in the medical field, from the dosage of drugs to the possibility that influencing the metabolism in the elderly can slow down the onset of diseases typical of the elderly. (HANDLE).
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