The Epoch Times By Harry Lee
A new study published in Nature Metabolism (pdf) has revealed that the basal metabolic rate (BMR) in people in the United States and Europe has decreased over the past three decades, potentially contributing to the growing obesity epidemic in both regions.
Basal metabolic rate, or basal energy expenditure, refers to the energy required per unit of time for the body to maintain vital functions such as breathing, blood circulation, and maintaining body temperature. Put simply, BMR is the number of calories the body burns while at rest. BMR is one component in the bodyâs total energy expenditure. The other is activity expenditure, the number of calories burned during physical activity, such as running or walking.
According to the study, which analyzed data from the present day back to the late 1980s from nearly 4,800 adults in Europe and the United States, the adjusted total daily energy expenditure has decreased significantly since the 1990s. The data indicated a decline of approximately 7.7 percent in men and 5.6 percent in women. In terms of adjusted basal energy expenditure, men experienced a drop of 14.7 percent over time, while womenâs decline was 2 percent and not deemed significant. However, the authors noted that a larger dataset of BMR measurements of nearly 10,000 adults across 163 studies going back 100âyears confirms the decline in both men and women…
The best exercise for obesity is slowly turning head from left to right when asked for seconds (old joke of Robert Orben, I believe).