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Wednesday, September 8, 2021 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Fit For
Sisters
Andrew Loscutoff
Columnist
Research review:
Metabolism
and aging
S p o i l e r a l e r t ! Yo u r
metabolism isn9t getting
slower.
If there9s one thing this
fitness and nutrition profes-
sional has heard time and
time again, it9s the com-
mon thought that metabo-
lism slows down with age.
A person gets older, and
they begin to gain weight,
though they are eating less.
They have more body fat,
but are busily doing out-
door work and recreational
activities like hiking and
golfing.
Contrary to popular opin-
ion, new research shows that
our metabolism doesn9t slow
down with aging; in fact, it
really doesn9t change. This
research provides a very
good explanation as to why
someone is gaining weight,
by revealing the true rela-
tionship between metabo-
lism and aging.
Metabolism is the rate
at which a person9s body
burns calories. It9s tied to
gender, body composition,
organs, and the basic life
support of heart, brain, and
lungs working tirelessly in
the background. It varies
from person to person but
there9s not as much vari-
ability across the board.
These calories account for
50-70 percent of the daily
calories a person eats.
Metabolism doesn9t include
calories from activity, mov-
ing, thinking, or other func-
tions other than basic life
support.
A study from Pennington
Biomedical featured an
international team assess-
ing 6,600 participants rang-
ing from infants to 95-year-
olds, from 29 different
countries. They studied the
average amount of calories
people used and controlled
for variables. The results:
Metabolism remained the
same from ages 20-60;
thereafter, there is around
a 0.7 percent decrease
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Where does this leave
the lamenting agers who
swear they have a <slow
metabolism=? It9s not actu-
ally metabolism to blame.
In fact, unless a person is
doing exercise to preserve
muscle mass, after the age
of 40 one begins to decline.
Without this muscle mass,
we aren9t requiring as many
calories. Also, as we age
we9re likely moving about
less. A mother, while raising
kids, likely did more on her
feet than as an empty-nester.
There was once a calorie
expenditure that is not pres-
ent in her current status.
This leaves the aging
person with less activity and
less muscle mass. If they
are eating just as much as
always, they will gain body
fat. This will be argued with
statements like, <I garden,
walk the dogs, and clean
up all the time.= While this
may be true, a person with
less muscle mass still needs
less calories.
Before giving up to the
<metabolism= woes, think
of how we really age, and
how behavioral change
actually drives the mecha-
nism. There is now research
to prove this, and it9s all the
better reason to begin a diet
and exercise overhaul before
it gets too dire.
School’s in!
PHOTO BY CHARLIE KANZIG
Megan Kapp, a third-grade teacher, chatted with a family during a
Tuesday, August 31, meet-and- greet outside the portable classroom
that was installed this summer for added space at the elementary
school. School began Tuesday, September 7, in Sisters.
Bring your snowblower and
chainsaw in for pre-season
tune-ups and servicing!
ANDEND-OF-SEASON
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