Library · Physiology
Basal metabolic rate
Make it clearer
Basal metabolic rate is the energy the body uses just to stay alive while at rest. It is the minimum its vital processes need. It is what a house uses with everything switched off except the essentials, like the refrigerator. And though it may sound small, it usually makes up most of the energy the body spends in a day.
That energy comes from metabolism, the set of chemical reactions that take place inside every cell. How big that expenditure is depends, essentially, on lean mass, also called fat-free mass: everything the body weighs apart from stored fat, meaning muscle, connective tissue, water and bone.
Age changes it too. In older adults, basal metabolic rate falls, and that drop seems to come down to two things: fat-free mass is lost, and the organs run at a lower metabolic rate.
In brief
Basal metabolic rate is the minimum energy the body uses at rest to sustain vital processes; it usually makes up most of total energy expenditure.
It is what a house uses with everything off except the essentials, like the refrigerator.
It comes from the metabolism of every cell and depends essentially on lean, or fat-free, mass: muscle, connective tissue, water and bone.
It declines in older adults, and that drop seems tied to less fat-free mass and lower organ metabolism.
Sources (4)
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, Endotext (MDText.com)Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis in Human Energy Homeostasis, EndotextPublished
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, StatPearls PublishingMetabolic Consequences of Weight Reduction, StatPearlsPublished
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, StatPearls PublishingPhysiology, Metabolism, StatPearlsPublished
- National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, via NCBI BookshelfFactors Affecting Energy Expenditure and Requirements, Dietary Reference Intakes for EnergyPublished
This page explains the topic in general terms; it does not tell anyone what treatment to follow.
Updated