PHYSICAL ACTIVITY TOWARDS HEALTH AND FITNESS 01

LESSON 6
METABOLISM

I. LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of the lesson, the students will be able to:

 Define metabolism;
 Explain the factors that affect metabolism;
 Define and calculate Basic Metabolic Rate (BMR); and
 Discuss and calculate TDEE;

II. INTRODUCTION

Metabolism is the process by which the body changes food and drink into energy. During this process,
calories in food and drinks mix with oxygen to make the energy the body needs (Mayo Clinic,2022).
Metabolism is unique to everyone, and the metabolism rate depends on many factors. Some people
believe their metabolism is fast or slow and often attribute their body weight to their metabolic rate
(MacPherson,2022).

While metabolism plays a role in body weight, it is not set in stone and is only one aspect of burning
calories or balancing energy levels. Learn more about metabolism, how it can change, and tips on
maintaining a healthy metabolic rate.

Your metabolism will change slightly from day to day. If you can learn how to manage and maintain a
healthy metabolism regularly, it can be easier to achieve weight loss and weight maintenance for the
long term. Speaking to your health care provider about your weight loss goals and concerns is wise.

III. LEARNING ACTIVITIES

UNDERSTANDING METABOLISM

Direction: Tell whether the statement is TRUE or FALSE.

________ 1. Metabolism refers to the process by which the body converts food into energy for
survival.
________ 2. Metabolism happens when you are moving and even when you are resting or sleeping.
________ 3. Higher muscle mass helps in maintaining good metabolic rates to burn more calories.
________ 4. Women tend to gain more weight as compared to men of that age.
________ 5. Imbalanced diet, low levels of physical activity, genetics, certain types of medications,
and poor sleep patterns slow down BMR.
________ 6. Building and repairing the body requires energy that ultimately comes from your food.
________ 7. The amount of energy, measured in kilojoules (kJ), that your body burns at any given
time is affected by your metabolism.
________ 8. If we regularly eat and drink more kilojoules than we need for our metabolism, we store
it mostly as fat.
________ 9. Modifiable factors influencing your metabolic rate include diet, physical activity, and
sleep.
________ 10. Incorporating a high-protein diet, high-intensity exercise, strengthening, and better
sleep habits are among the ways to boost your metabolism naturally.
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WHAT IS METABOLISM?

Your metabolic rate is the rate at which you expend calories or energy (Comana, 2022). Your body
uses energy conversion to support breathing, hormone production, and cell growth and repair as the
body uses your metabolism to convert food into energy so you can stay active (Watson, 2021).

Most essential, every food or liquid you ingest is converted into energy by your metabolism. Your
metabolism transforms anything you put into your body to keep you moving (Fit Body Boot Camp,
2022). Additionally, it's a rather consistent process, making drastic dietary adjustments useless and
unnecessary (Valdez,2023).

Factors That Affect Metabolism

Everyone's metabolic rate is different, as many factors can influence how fast (or slow) our body uses
or converts energy (Kaushik,2022). These factors include your age, sex, body composition and size,
whether you are pregnant, eating enough, and more (MacPherson,2022).

Read more about these factors below:

• Body size – larger adult bodies have more metabolizing tissue and a larger BMR.
• Amount of lean muscle tissue – muscle burns kilojoules rapidly.
• Amount of body fat – fat cells are ‘sluggish’ and burn far fewer kilojoules than most other tissues
and organs of the body.
• Crash dieting, starving or fasting – eating too few kilojoules encourages the body to slow the
metabolism to conserve energy. BMR can drop by up to 15 per cent and if lean muscle tissue is
also lost, this further reduces BMR.
• Age – metabolism slows with age due to loss of muscle tissue, but also due to hormonal and
neurological changes.
• Growth – infants and children have higher energy demands per unit of body weight due to the
energy demands of growth and the extra energy needed to maintain their body temperature.
• Gender – generally, men have faster metabolisms because they tend to be larger.
• Genetic predisposition – your metabolic rate may be partly decided by your genes.
• Hormonal and nervous controls – BMR is controlled by the nervous and hormonal systems.
Hormonal imbalances can influence how quickly or slowly the body burns kilojoules.
• Environmental temperature – if temperature is very low or very high, the body has to work
harder to maintain its normal body temperature, which increases the BMR.
• Infection or illness – BMR increases because the body has to work harder to build new tissues
and to create an immune response.
• Amount of physical activity – hard-working muscles need plenty of energy to burn. Regular
exercise increases muscle mass and teaches the body to burn kilojoules at a faster rate, even
when at rest.
• Dietary deficiencies –a diet low in iodine reduces thyroid function and slows the metabolism.
• Menopause - If you're going through it or have been through it, you already know your BMR
usually goes down during this period of time, meaning you're burning fewer calories.

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 PHYSICAL ACTIVITY TOWARDS HEALTH AND FITNESS 01

BASAL METABOLIC RATE

Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is the number of calories you burn as your body performs basic (basal)
life-sustaining function. Commonly also termed as Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR), which is the
calories burned if you stayed in bed all day (Garnet Health,2016). In either case, many utilize the
basal metabolic rate formula to calculate their body’s metabolism rate.

BMR stands for Basal Metabolic Rate. BMR is also known as Basal Energy Expenditure or BEE
(My Health Alberta,2022). It is defined as the rate at which the human body consumes energy when
they are physically and mentally resting to maintain essential body functions such as breathing, cell
division, growth, and nerve cell functioning (Flecher, 2020). Basal metabolic rate (BMR) helps you
determine the estimated baseline amounts of calories your body needs to function and serves as a
starting point to determine how many calories you may want to consume based on your goals. Under
restrictive conditions, BMR is measured in a lab setting (Frey,2022).

CALCULATING YOUR METABOLIC RATE

To determine your current metabolic rate, you first need to calculate your BMR or the number of
calories your body needs for basic functioning. The most accurate way to do this is to have it tested in
a lab (Comana,2022). Another option is to calculate your estimated BMR yourself. Online calculators
are available, or, if you'd prefer to calculate this number by hand, you can do so by using the Harris-
Benedict Equation to estimate Basal Metabolic Rate (Frey,2022).

Men BMR = 88.362 + (13.397 x weight in kg) + (4.799 x height in cm) - (5.677 x age in
years)
Women BMR = 447.593 + (9.247 x weight in kg) + (3.098 x height in cm) - (4.330 x age in
years)

Step 1: Estimate your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)

As a rule of thumb, BMR uses 22 calories for every kg of a woman’s body weight and 24 calories per
kg of a man’s body weight.

Women: BMR = weight in kg x 22

Men: BMR = weight in kg x 24

Step 2: Work out your Physical Activity Level (PAL)

Sedentary BMR x 1.2 little or no exercise, desk job

Lightly active BMR x 1.375 light exercise/ sports 1-3 days/week
Moderately active BMR x 1.55 moderate exercise/ sports 6-7 days/we
Very active BMR x 1.725 hard exercise every day, or exercising 2 xs/day
Extra active BMR x 1.9 hard exercise 2 or more times per day, or training for
marathon, or triathlon, etc.

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Step 3: Multiply your BMR by your PAL to work out your Daily Calorie Needs

Daily calorie needs = BMR x PAL

This figure gives you a rough idea of your daily calorie requirement to maintain your weight. If you eat
fewer calories, you will lose weight; if you eat more then you will gain weight. Your BMR is the
number of calories you burn at rest (to keep your heart beating, your lungs breathing, to maintain your
body temperature, etc.). It accounts for 60–75% of the calories you burn daily. Generally, men have a
higher BMR than women.

Total Daily Energy Expenditure

(TDEE)

The Total Daily Energy Expenditure estimates how many calories are burnt through bodily functions
and physical activity (Hall,2023). Calculating TDEE not only gives an idea that a person is moving
around enough, but it could also impact one's weight management plans because it creates an
estimate of the current calorie burn (MacPherson,2022).

Take a closer look at what TDEE is. All of these factors combine to become your TDEE, representing
all the calories you burn in a day.

Image Source:
https://cheatdaydesign.com/what-is-tdee/

Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)

Basal metabolic rate refers to the number of calories the body burns daily to keep a person alive.
BMR is the number of calories the body's organs expend in 24 hours if the person lies in bed all day
(Magnante,2023). BMR is the absolute minimum of calories necessary to ensure survival. The basal
metabolic rate, or metabolism, is the calories the body needs to maintain the current weight
(Matt,2022).

Thermic Effect of Food (TEF)

When we eat food, our body must expend energy to digest the food we eat. This energy expenditure
is referred to as the Thermic Effect of Food (MacPherson,2022). It involves breaking down the
protein, carbohydrates, and fat one consumes into the individual amino acids, sugars, and fatty acids

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 PHYSICAL ACTIVITY TOWARDS HEALTH AND FITNESS 01

that are then absorbed and used by the body to carry out all of its processes, including building new
tissue, synthesizing hormones, producing neurotransmitters, and others (Magnante,2023).
Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT)

Non-exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT) constitutes the number of calories expended during
daily movement that is not categorized as structured exercise (McCall,2017). NEAT includes walking
the dog, moving from one room to another, or taking the stairs to the office (Matt,2022).

NEAT is highly variable from one person to another and can play a rather large or small role in your
overall TDEE depending on how physically active your job or daily happenings are (Comana,2022).
For example, a waitress or construction worker will have a significantly greater NEAT than an office
worker who sits at a desk for 8 hours of the day and spends 2 hours commuting to and from work.

Thermic Effect of Activity (TEA)

Thermic Effect of Activity is the number of calories burned as a result of exercise. For example:
steady-state cardio, resistance training, HIIT, sprints, CrossFit, and the like (Matt, 2022). Similar to
NEAT, thermic effect of exercise is highly variable from one person to another or even from one day to
another for the same person, as the intensity of training, length of the workout, and training frequency
all impact your weekly thermic effect of activity (Waehner,2022). The TEA is the number of calories
your burns when exercising, TEA typically accounts for 5% to 10% of your metabolism
(Magnante,2023).

When you add all of these numbers together, you get an estimate of the number of calories you need
on a daily basis to maintain your current weight.

Your TDEE is the sum of these four factors, so to put the above parameters into a math equation for
simplicity’s sake, calculating TDEE looks a little something like this:

TDEE = BMR + TEF + NEAT + TEA

When you add all of these numbers together, you get an estimate of the number of calories you need
on a daily basis to maintain your current weight.

CALCULATING TDEE
1. Calculate the BMR using the Harris Benedict Equation.

Women BMR = 655 + (9.6 X weight in kg) + (1.8 x height in cm) – (4.7 x age in yrs)
Men BMR = 66 + (13.7 X weight in kg) + (5 x height in cm) – (6.8 x age in yrs)

Given: Joseph is a 30 years old male teacher. He is 6 feet tall and weighs 72 kg.
Age : _________
Height : _________
Weight : _________

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Using the Harris-Benedict Equation for men, and plugging the above numbers into
the equation gives you:

BMR = ______ + ( _____ X ______ ) + ( _____ x _____ ) - ( _____ x _____ )

BMR = ______ + ______ + ______ - ______
BMR = ______

2. Calculate your approximate TDEE, simply multiply these activity factors by your
BMR:

Sedentary BMR x 1.2 little or no exercise, desk job

Lightly active BMR x 1.375 light exercise/ sports 1-3 days/week
Moderately active BMR x 1.55 moderate exercise/ sports 6-7 days/we
Very active BMR x 1.725 hard exercise every day, or exercising 2 xs/day
Extra active BMR x 1.9 hard exercise 2 or more times per day, or training for
marathon, or triathlon, etc.

Going back to our example guy Joseph, let’s assume he trains 3 days per week following a high-
frequency full body training program with no additional steady-state cardio or HIIT training during the
week. This puts Joseph in the “Moderately Active” category.

To calculate Josephs’s approximate TDEE, multiply his BMR by _____. This gives
us:
TDEE = ______ x BMR

TDEE = ______ x ______

TDEE = _______

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REFERENCES

Comana F. Resting metabolic rate: How to calculate and improve yours. National Academy of Sports Medicine.
Retrieved 2023 August 4, from https://blog.nasm.org/nutrition/resting-metabolic-rate-how-to-calculate-
and-improve-yours

Fit Body Boot Camp. (2022 August 2). The Best Group Workouts to Increase Metabolism and Burn More Calorie.
Retrieved 2023 August 4, from https://fitbodybootcamp.com/fbbcblog/the-best-group-workouts-to-
increase-metabolism-and-burn-more-calories/

Flecher, J. (2020 March 9). Medical News Today. What to Know About Basal Metabolic Rate. Retrieved 2023
September 17, from https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/basal-metabolic-rate

Frey, M. (2022 October 21). Calculate Your Basal Metabolic Rate. Very Well Fit. Retrieved 2023 July 27, from
https://www.verywellfit.com/what-is-bmr-or-basal-metabolic-rate-3495380

Garnet Health. (2016 July 1). Basal Metabolic Calculator. Retrieved 2023 September 16, from
https://www.garnethealth.org/news/basal-metabolic-rate-calculator

Hall, A. (2023 June 26). TDEE Calculator: Calculate Your Total Daily Energy Expenditure. Retrieved 2023
August 4, from https://www.forbes.com/health/body/tdee-calculator/

Kaushik, S. (2022 Aug 4). All About Calories. Fit Pass. Retrieved 2023August 4, from https://fitpass.co.in/blog/all-
about-calories

MacPherson, R. (2022 October 12). How to Boost Your Daily Energy Expenditure. Very Well Fit. Retrieved
2023 August 4, from https://www.verywellfit.com/what-is-energy-expenditure-3496103

Magnante, M. (2023 July 26). TDEE Calculator: Calculate Your Total Daily Energy Expenditure.Fitness Volt.
Retrieved 2023 August 4, from https://fitnessvolt.com/tdee-calculator/

Matt. (2022 January 12). What is TDEE & How Do I Calculate Mine? Cheat Day Needed. Retrieved 2023
August 4, from https://cheatdaydesign.com/what-is-tdee/

McCall, P. (2017 November 21). 6 Things to Know About Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis. ACE. Retrieved
2023 August 4, from https://www.acefitness.org/resources/everyone/blog/6852/6-things-toknow-about-
non-exercise-activity-thermogenesis/

Mayo Clinic (2022 October 8). Metabolism and Weight Loss: How you burn calories. Retrieved 2023 July 27,
from https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/weight-loss/in-depth/metabolism/art-20046508

My Health Alberta. (2022 October 10). Basal Metabolic Rate. Retrieved 2023 September 17, from
https://myhealth.alberta.ca/Health/Pages/conditions.aspx?hwid=aa129432&lang=en-ca

Valdez, R. (2023 February 08). What is Metabolism? Very Well Health. Retrieved 2023 August 4, from
https://www.verywellhealth.com/metabolism-7098962

Watson, S. (2021 June 14). How to Boost Your Metabolism with Exercise. WebMD. Retrieved 2023 August 8,
from https://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/how-to-boost-your-metabolism

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