Today's interesting fitness fact:

[Eason]

Your friend who you think has a "faster metabolism" than you and that's why they can eat whatever they want- they don't. There is no statistically significant difference between his Base Metabolic Rate and yours. Even people who have a lot of muscle (or fat) don't have a significantly faster metabolism because of it. Your internal organs burn around 26kcal/hr/lb. Your muscle? 6 kcal/lb/hr. Fat? 2 kcal/lb/hr. Bone? 1 kcal/lb/hr. The reason why one person might not gain weight fast when you might is because they engage in NEAT, or Non-exercise Activity Thermogenesis. NEAT includes all activities that don't include exercise, including fidgeting, pacing while standing, shaking your legs subconsciously, etc. Someone who fidgets in their chair at work will burn around 88 more calories per hour than someone who sits still. That's about 640 calories burned a DAY. These activities in general when performed over say, and 8 hour workday, will account for anywhere between 300-864 additional calories burned. Keep in mine 3500 calories = 1 lb fat.
NEAT has been shown to have a genetic component, families of High Neat-o-type people tend to be together.
One of the main reasons people who diet and lose weight gain it back is because their bodies reduce their level of NEAT activity- this overall effect of this reduction of NEAT activity means that previously overweight/obese people have a caloric expenditure 75% that of what would be expected for their body, because their bodies have reduced their NEAT levels, and they won't feel like doing anything. Research also shows that in addition to lowering your NEAT levels when you are dieting, your NEAT levels will increase when you are fed increased extra calories. A study where 48 people were overfed 1000 calories a day showed that those who were high-neat-o-types gained almost no weight because they were compelled by their bodies to do other things to compensate, expending the excess calories.

So the moral is, your friend doesn't have a "fast" metabolism, he's a NEAT-freak. You don't have a slow metabolism, your body just doesn't have a high level of NEAT. To compensate, get a pedometer and try and walk more.

 

[Jared]

Interesting. It seems that sitting on an exercise ball instead of a task chair could make a huge difference?

 

[Eason]

Indeed it does. Studies done with school children showed it helped with focusing attention as well.

 

[velobran]

Very good read. I read something similar before, but it was slated towards "people who can't pay attention to things (or have that made up disease ADD) and fidget burn more calories". I too am a NEAT-freak ... and I guess it shows compared to my non-NEAT freak friends. Also, I am always hot ... so maybe my own body temperature helps burn more calories

 

[eg1]

But what about thyroid disorders?

 

[Eason]

Originally Posted by eg1

But what about thyroid disorders?

Hypothyroidism excluded. We are talking about mostly medically "normal" people without hormonal imbalances. Another possible reason hypothyroidism wasn't included was because the "range" for a natural TSH level is so broad that it's still hard to classify people accurately.

 

[Ludeykrus]

Wow, it's crazy such small movements over time add up to such a quantity of calories.

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I wonder how many calories Kegel exercises burn?

 

[Saucemaster]

References and sources? Because from personal experience, I am very skeptical of this. I don't particularly fidget that much, but at 6'1" 165lbs, I have to eat upwards of 4000 calories a day to gain weight. I've monitored my diet very carefully for a few years now, and I'm very sure of this number. I couldn't possibly be fidgeting that much, trust me. What is noticeably different about me is that I generate a lot of heat at all times, even at complete rest. It's also what makes humidity so miserable for me. I suppose that, based on the name, this would be another form of thermogenesis, but it has nothing to do with activity. It's also extremely noticeable shortly after I eat (just ask my girlfriend, who will sometimes ask me to move over on the couch because I'm too warm).

 

[Eason]

Originally Posted by Saucemaster

References and sources? Because from personal experience, I am very skeptical of this. I don't particularly fidget that much, but at 6'1" 165lbs, I have to eat upwards of 4000 calories a day to gain weight. I've monitored my diet very carefully for a few years now, and I'm very sure of this number. I couldn't possibly be fidgeting that much, trust me. What is noticeably different about me is that I generate a lot of heat at all times, even at complete rest. It's also what makes humidity so miserable for me. I suppose that, based on the name, this would be another form of thermogenesis, but it has nothing to do with activity. It's also extremely noticeable shortly after I eat (just ask my girlfriend, who will sometimes ask me to move over on the couch because I'm too warm).

I'll give you the reference information for the studies when I get off work, for the NEAT and the food energy digestive requirements. Out of curiousity, what is your daily activity level like? Do you walk to work? Cycle? What do you do for a living?

 

[Saucemaster]

Originally Posted by Eason

I'll give you the reference information for the studies when I get off work, for the NEAT and the food energy digestive requirements. Out of curiousity, what is your daily activity level like? Do you walk to work? Cycle? What do you do for a living?

I'm moderately active--walk two miles each way to/from work, lift three days a week, cardio three days (never both on the same day). Lifting sessions never exceed 45 min (which frequently means supersets), cardio sessions never exceed 35-40 unless I'm playing a sport (in which case I drink calories throughout, usually those little Boost things), and are usually significantly shorter (15-20 min of sprint intervals). My time at work is spent completely immobile in front of a desk, as is much of my time at home.

 

[whodini]

I, too, question the methods of this research. A big red flag that comes to mind is what ethnicities were studied and with what percentages? I have a hard time believing that genetically-speaking Samoans are more lazy than the average Asian. Were women involved in this study? If so, what were their ages? Were they screened for menopause or other estrogen-deficient disorders? This could go ad nauseum as so little information has been given.

I won't argue that individual hyperactivity can cause varying degrees of caloric burning, but this study seems far too generalized to be believed as an ad hoc explanation for weight management. Also, forty-eight people in a study sounds more like an undergrad kinesiology experiment than full-blown post-graduate research. The less people in a pool the higher the likelihood of inconsistencies and confounds will be as well as being less applicable to a broader consenus.

 

[Dragon]

Interesting, but I don`t think it`s true.

Of course, the more activity (even small) will add up to more calories burned, but I don`t think everyone has the same base metabolic rate.

We are like cars burning fuel. Some are like race cars, and some are like Prius.

 

[quevola]

Very good Eason -I am also a NEAT-freak. As a dietitian I am constantly preaching the importance of body movement for weight management and recommend that they use a pedometer to track their steps. I personally don't go to bed until I have walked at least 10,000 steps every day. On most days I walk well over 20,000 steps.

 

[Saucemaster]

Originally Posted by whodini

I won't argue that individual hyperactivity can cause varying degrees of caloric burning, but this study seems far too generalized to be believed as an ad hoc explanation for weight management.

This is pretty much exactly what I was trying to say. Thanks for the assist. I'm sure that NEAT can account for some variance in weight, but I am highly skeptical that, if you took two people at the same starting weight, height, and body composition, fed them the exact same diets, and gave them the same workout plans, you'd find that the difference between their bodyweight and -composition a year later was entirely explainable by their NEAT.

 

[Musselma]

The lesson here is to start fidgeting until it becomes a habit