The metabolism? It doesn’t slow down with age. But for 5 other reasons

Until now it was considered one of the mandatory signs of the passing of time: the metabolism that “slows down” and prevents our body from killing calories, as it happens at a young age. In fact, it is generally accepted that, over time, resting metabolism slows down, especially after the age of 40. But no! An article published a few days ago in the authoritative journal Science states that this is not the case. Rather, our lifestyle would slow down our metabolism.

Metabolism and age –

By analyzing data from 6,500 people, the researchers found that resting metabolism tends to remain stable from 20 to 60 years, before starting to record a slowdown of less than 1% thereafter. Gender differences matter little: it applies to both women and men. Of course, these data do not take into account any metabolic disorders, which can affect people at any age. But in all other cases, the good news is that if we feel that our metabolism is slowing down, we just have to make some lifestyle changes to give it a “jolt”.

Why does the metabolism slow down? –

Although the basal resting metabolic rate tends to remain stable between the ages of 20 and 60, other factors can intervene and lower our ability to metabolize fat, maximizing calorie consumption, increasing energy-burning muscle mass and getting quality rest to activate metabolic processes. There are above all five things to watch out for:

• The lack of movement
• Incorrect nutrition
• Little water
• Little rest
• A lot of stress

Slow metabolism? Here’s how to avoid it –

• Walk more

  One of the reasons your metabolism slows down is that our level of physical activity decreases over the years. We tend to be more sedentary and walk less, although – according to some research – to maintain adequate fat metabolism we should take at least 7,000 to 8,500 steps a day (not all at once, ed).

• Metabolism and HIIT

  In recent years we hear about it more and more often. HIIT is a type of training that involves periods of intense exercise with a high heart rate alternating with periods of recovery. It has been shown to increase the metabolic rate, particularly for fat burning, even long after training is finished. According to one study, after 12 weeks of HIIT, overweight men had reduced abdominal fat by 17% and overall fat mass by about 2 kg.

• Strength Training and Metabolism

  It is now well known: with strength training we increase muscle mass, which in turn increases our overall metabolic rate: the muscles we build through training continue to burn caloric energy, regardless of how often we train. Therefore, this type of training also helps us to avoid the muscle loss and metabolic decline associated with the weight loss diet.

• The ideal workout for slowing metabolism

  To maximize metabolic boost through exercise, according to experts we should include both strength training sessions and HIIT training sessions in our weekly training program. But above all, break long periods of sedentary lifestyle during the day with short periods of physical activity: even just 20 seconds of high-intensity exercise according to science can contribute to a metabolism shock.

• Slowing metabolism and nutrition

  Digesting food actually raises your metabolism for a few hours, because it takes caloric energy to process the nutrients we eat. This process is called postprandial thermogenesis or the thermal effect of food (TEF). This doesn’t mean we have to eat more to keep our metabolism from slowing down, but introducing more protein into our diet, if it’s unbalanced, might be a good idea: proteins in fact increase the TEF, and consequently the overall metabolic rate from 15% to 30%. Eating the right amount of protein is also essential for building and repairing muscle, which increases metabolism.

• The importance of water

  Drinking more water can also briefly boost your metabolism. Even according to a study from a few years ago, already drinking as little as 50cl of water can increase resting metabolism by 24% for about an hour.

• Metabolism slows down even with little sleep

  Sleep is essential for the recovery and restoration of all processes in our body. Sleeping less than 7 hours on average can have negative health implications, such as weight gain, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, depression, impaired immune function, and chronic fatigue. And poor sleep quality has been shown to negatively impact metabolism.

Conclusions –

If that is true there are individual variations in energy expenditure that can affect metabolism and the trajectory of our weight over time, the results of the study published in Science state that these are not age dependent. Eat a healthy and balanced diet consisting mainly of whole foods in the form of fruits, vegetables, lean proteins and whole grains, maintain an active lifestyle with the goal of at least 150 minutes of physical activity per week, including training strength to gain or maintain lean muscle mass, get adequate rest, which for most people equates to seven to eight hours of sleep a day, and managing stress through mindfulness, meditation, or other relaxing activities are choices that not only do they increase our general well-being, they also help prevent metabolism from slowing down.

October 21, 2021 (change October 21, 2021 | 10:07)

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