The effects of aging on metabolism

Hey, All You “Prime-of-Life’ers” – does it feel like your get-up-and-go just got up and went?  Does the old saying; “The mind is willing but the flesh is weak” describe your activity levels in the prime of your life? Do some of you find that you eat less but actually gain weight in spite of it?

Well, friends, welcome to the effects of aging on metabolism. As disheartening as this may sound, there are thing we can all do to help lessen these effects.

Some of the following information may actually surprise you.

It is a well known fact that when we are young and in our growing years, our metabolism, especially our basal metabolic rate, or BMR, is quite high. We are also painfully aware that as we age, and especially after menopause in women, our metabolism takes a nose dive and keeps on plunging. As a result, the natural thing to consider is a calorie reduction diet regimen to help offset the decreased rate-or-burn that our metabolism experiences as we get older.

Many studies have been undertaken over the years, such as the one reported in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism*, which demonstrated that, while resting metabolic rates differ in men and women, as well as pre- and post-menopausal women, and there is the reality of decreasing metabolism with aging, those individuals who regularly participated in exercise regimens that included resistance/weight training as well as aerobic activities, demonstrated higher resting metabolic rates than those in the sedentary category.

Additionally, increased calorie consumption, of the right kinds such as protein, can actually increase metabolism.

Other studies, and there are many, suggest that reduced calorie intake, in anticipation of offsetting the decreasing metabolic rates, can actually cause weight gain, mainly because consumption of food, the right kinds and combinations of food, actually stimulate increased metabolism. This concept, in concert with increased exercise, both aerobic (exercise that utilizes oxygen to burn calories) and anaerobic (calorie burn without oxygen) resistance/weight training attacks lowered metabolism from two fronts.

Now, this isn’t an invitation to think that “wow, if eating a little more food helps a little, then eating a LOT more helps a lot.” Just remember that it takes energy (energy = metabolism) to burn calories. Additionally, the more and better quality muscle mass you have, the more calories are burned.

I’ve written here in previous articles of the orthopedic benefits of exercise, better bone health, joint health and function, cardio-respiratory function, sleep patterns and even better sex. Now it has been shown in studies like the one mentioned earlier, that calorie reduction as we age may not necessarily be the best thing and that eating more intelligently and in judicious volumes, can actually enhance resting metabolic rates. That plus regular, and I emphasize regular, exercise patterns can attack that metabolism debacle on more than one front.

For more information on diet and exercise that can help metabolism, talk with your physician or health care provider, and perhaps arrange a meeting with a registered dietician.

Let’s get up and go after the get-up-and-go that got-up-and-went. Get it?

* Regular Exercise and the Age-Related Decline in Resting Metabolic Rate in Women, Rachael E. Van Pelt, Pamela P. Jones, Kevin P. Davy, Christopher A. DeSouza, Hirofumi Tanaka, Brenda M. Davy and Douglas R. Seals Human Cardiovascular Research Laboratory, Center for Physical Activity, Disease Prevention, and Aging, Department of Kinesiology (R.E.V.P., P.P.J., K.P.D., C.A.D., H.T., D.R.S.), University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309; and the Department of Medicine, Divisions of Cardiology and Geriatric Medicine (D.R.S.), and the Department of Pediatrics, Center for Human Nutrition (B.M.D.), University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver, Colorado 80262.

Chisholm’s expertise in nursing, orthopedics and surgery spans more than 30 years. He holds multiple national certifications in these specialties. His goal is to empowering people through education and information to become more engaged, proactive and responsible in their orthopedic health, and health care. For additional information on orthopedic-related topics, visit Ken’s Web site at www.bone-and-joint-pain.com. Submit questions or comments to Ken at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or at his Web site.

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