Your metabolic rate peaks in your early 20s, according to Women's Health Magazine. At this age, you tend to have a higher muscle mass and have a fair amount of physical activity built into your day. As early as age 30, however, men and women begin noticing a dip in their ability to lose weight.
Researchers found that metabolism peaks around age 1, when babies burn calories 50 percent faster than adults, and then gradually declines roughly 3 percent a year until around age 20.
Over time, studies have shown that metabolic rate (how fast we burn calories) starts to slow down by 2 to 3 percent each decade, beginning in our 20s. It becomes more noticeable between ages 40 and 60.
For years, the assumption has been that your metabolism is slowing as you age. But a study that included 6,500 people from 29 countries shows that metabolism for both men and women really doesn't significantly drop off until you reach the age of 60.
As we age, our metabolism slows and the rate at which we break down food decreases by 10 percent each decade after age 20. Metabolism is the amount of energy (calories) your body uses to maintain itself.
"The biggest thing people do that slows their metabolism down is eating too few calories," said Fiore. 1200 calories per day is roughly the amount you need to perform basic functions, she suggested, and when a person eats fewer than that, the metabolism slows down to conserve energy.
It might seem counterintuitive, but generally speaking, skinny people don't have faster metabolisms than people who weigh more. In fact, the bigger your body, the more calories you burn. Basal (or resting) metabolism refers to the total number of calories all the cells in the body need to stay alive and functioning.
People with more muscle mass often have faster metabolisms that burn more calories. Age: You lose muscle as you get older, which slows down the metabolism. Sex: Males tend to have faster metabolisms than females. They have more muscle mass, larger bones and less body fat.
Factors that may increase a person's metabolic rate include consuming an appropriate number of calories, favoring protein over carbohydrates and fat, getting enough sleep, and some types of exercise, such as resistance training.
Eating too few calories can cause a major decrease in metabolism. Although a calorie deficit is needed for weight loss, it can be counterproductive for your calorie intake to drop too low.
Metabolism is partly genetic and largely outside of one's control. Changing it is a matter of considerable debate. Some people are just lucky. They inherited genes that promote a faster metabolism and can eat more than others without gaining weight.
Aerobic activity can help control weight and can lower your risk of heart disease, diabetes, and many other conditions. Muscle-strengthening exercises are important for the same reasons but will also boost your metabolism.
As metabolic rate increases the lifespan of an organism is expected to decrease as well.
Teenagers may be said to eat their parents out of house and home, but research suggests their daily energy expenditure isn't much greater than that of adults.
Recent research finds that our metabolism doesn't slow down as much as we thought with age, and teens aren't the calorie-burning marvels we thought. Study findings suggest that we burn calories the fastest in our first year of life, steady down to our “normal” rate by our 20s and stay that way into our 50s.
Hormonal metabolism tests are the only type you can do at home. Other tests can provide more and different information based on a larger blood sample, but they require you to go to a lab or work with a doctor first. Your doctor can prescribe a metabolism test and perform it in a medical setting.
If you have a high metabolic rate, you may be able to eat much more than others and still not gain weight. Genes are just one variable that influence your BMR. Others include your age, height, starting weight, physical activity level and muscle mass percentage.
Hummingbirds, with their tiny bodies and high levels of activity, have the highest metabolic rates of any animals -- roughly a dozen times that of a pigeon and a hundred times that of an elephant. To maintain those rates, hummers have to consume about their weight in nectar daily.
Adjust Your Caloric Output
The only real way to eat more calories without gaining weight is by also increasing the number of calories you burn. If you really want to eat more, and you don't want to alter your food choices, you're simply going to have to burn more calories every day.
Cardio Temporarily Boosts Your Metabolism
Your RMR is the number of calories the body burns while at rest. This means that, by doing regular cardio, you constantly burn more calories, even when you are not working out, which can help you maintain a healthy weight over time.