You may be familiar with terms like metabolism and even metabolic health. But have you ever heard of metabolic age?
Your metabolic age reflects the state of your overall metabolic health and function. This number is calculated by comparing how many calories your body burns at rest compared to other people your age, and some research shows it can help detect metabolic health issues .
But there’s much more to the term ‘metabolic age’ than a calculation. It’s also important to consider other aspects; for example, how important is this measurement to your overall health, especially if you want to improve your metabolic health?
What factors influence your metabolic age? And how can metabolic age be changed?
In this article, we'll explore exactly what your metabolic age says about your overall metabolic health and how you can improve it with healthy habits.
How Does Your Metabolism Work?
Your metabolism refers to every chemical reaction your body carries out to complete bodily functions and keep you alive. Some of these functions include things like energy conversion , blood circulation, food digestion, cognitive function, hormone regulation, and waste elimination.
To complete all of these processes, the body burns a certain number of calories to transform food into energy, and this is measured by basal metabolic rate (BMR). Your BMR is used to measure your body's daily energy expenditure, and this rate can be influenced by factors such as age, fat mass, and leptin in the body.
To consider all the other daily activities, such as walking, eating, and exercising, a measurement called total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) is calculated. Your TDEE factors in your basal metabolic rate ( BMR ) and your daily activity to determine how many calories you burn daily with all activities.
Metabolic Rate and Metabolic Age
As we mentioned, basal metabolic rate (BMR) estimates the number of calories your body burns daily simply by keeping itself alive. This number is usually similar to your resting energy expenditure (REE) or the number of calories burned while you rest.
Your metabolic age is calculated using your BMR . However, this number is then compared to the average BMR for people of the same chronological age (your actual age).
Research indicates that as you age, your BMR decreases by 0.75 percent annually, coupled with a 1 percent increase in body fat per year after reaching 40. However, increased metabolic age has been found to predict metabolic syndrome and other adverse health effects in some people.
So, how do you calculate your metabolic age? To do so manually, you'll first need to know your basal metabolism.
The common formula for these measurements takes your height, body weight, sex, and age into account.
The concept of metabolic age suggests that a value that is the same or younger than your real age indicates better metabolic health .