RSSGrowing muscle, vanishing fat: Part 2
May 20, 2011
 |
| Image by AKARAKINGDOMS. |
Skeletal muscle significantly contributes to RMR.1 By building muscle you can increase your overall RMR.
Skeletal muscle mass accounts for 40-50% of total body weight. Muscle has a RMR of 14.5 kcal/kg/day.2 Using myself as an example, with my current weight of approx. 63 kg (≈ 140 lbs), assuming that 40% of my body weight is skeletal muscle, the weight of my skeletal muscle mass is about 25 kg (≈ 56 lbs). My skeletal muscle RMR is about 363 kcal/day. If I were to gain 2 kg (≈ 4.5 lbs) of lean muscle mass, my skeletal muscle RMR will increase to 392 kcal/day. Looking at skeletal muscle RMR in a short-term perspective, e.g. per day, it may not look like a big difference. But over a year it’s a difference of more than 10 500 calories! Theoretically, it means that by gaining lean muscle mass I can eat more without worrying about gaining fat.
Research suggests that the decrease in RMR as we age may be largely due to loss of muscle mass.2,3 By conserving muscle mass as we age we can maintain function and RMR, both which are essential for maintaining a healthy weight and well-being.
References:
1 Zurlo F, Larson K, Bogardus C, Ravussin E. Skeletal muscle metabolism is a major determinant of resting energy expenditure. Journal Clin Invest. 1990;86(5):1423–1427.
2 Javed F, He Q, Davidson LE et al.. Brain and high metabolic rate organ mass: contributions to resting energy expenditure beyond fat-free mass. Am J Clin Nutr. 2010;91(4):907–912. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2844678
3 Bosy-Westphal A, Eichhorn C, Kutzner D et al.. The Age-Related Decline in Resting Energy Expenditure in Humans Is Due to the Loss of Fat-Free Mass and Alteration in Its Metabolically Active Components. J Nutr. 2003;133(7):2356-2362.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
0 comments (+add yours?)
Post a Comment