Study Demystifies What We Knew About Metabolism

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Humans have always been conditioned to believe that metabolism slows down with age. In our conventional wisdom, people gain weight year after year, and metabolism slows down starting from middle age and during menopause for women. "Metabolism consists of the chemical reactions that control the synthesis and degradation of substances in our body," explains endocrinologist and sports medicine specialist, Gisele Lorenzoni. Now, a study published in the journal Science by Herman Pontzer, a professor at Duke University in North Carolina, shows that metabolism between the ages of 20 and 60 remains practically stable. "Using data from nearly 6,500 people, ranging in age from one week to 95 years, the research found that there are four distinct periods of life regarding metabolism," the doctor explains. The periods are from infancy to one year of age, when calorie burning is at its highest. At 20 years old, metabolism slows down by about 3% per year, and from 20 to 60 years, it remains stable. After 60, it decreases by about 0.7% per year. "For us, doctors who have always worked under the information that metabolism decreases with maturity, it was a great surprise and will be a revolution in the science of human physiology," Gisele assures. "We will have implications for some practices in prescribing medications for children and the elderly, and we will need to review all age groups by studying patients better," points out the endocrinologist.