How the human body burns calories

Each day the average adult human body burns roughly 2,300 calories. This is considered Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) BMR is the amount energy the body expend, while at rest on a daily basis.

If a man consume 3,000 calories for example, the body will burn the 2,3000 calories it needs and stores the remaining 700 as fat.

Homeostasis, body temperature regulation, central nervous system function, hormone and chemical production and electrolyte balance, as swell as every day function needed for life, are part of the resting metabolic rate.

The higher the metabolic rate the more calories the body burns and the easier it is to maintain a healthy bodyweigth and composition. The human body burns calories in two ways.

The first way is through involuntary activate, such as the beating of the heart, the inhaling of oxygen and maintanance of body temperature.

The second is through voluntary activities such as exercising and moving around throughout the day.

Another larger user energy is the thermal effect of feeding (TEF), or the amount of calories needed to eat, digest and distribute food fuels.

This requirements varies with the type of food digested as well as with the body composition of then individual.
How the human body burns calories

BMR or Basal Metabolic Rate

Most dietary energy is needed to maintain oxygenation, blood supply and ionic gradients across membrane in all tissues. This is termed the Basal Metabolic Rate.

Basal Metabolic Rate or BMR is the rate at which a body uses up energy when completely at rest just to maintain vital function such as breathing, circulation, heartbeat, digestion and nervous activity. It is measured immediately after at least 8 hours of sleep and at least of fasting.

A key regulator of BMR is thyroxin, a hormone produced by the thyroid gland.

BMR varies from person to person depending on how much energy a person uses when resting with a change in circumstance or physical condition. Because muscle has high metabolic activity, the BMR is directly related to an individual fat free mass and is generally reported in calorie per pound of body weight per hour.

For most part, the BMR is highest in people who are growing e.g. children, adolescent and pregnant women and in those with considerable lean body mass such as physically fit people and males.

The more a person weighs, the more total energy is expended on basal metabolic, but the amount of energy per pound of body weight may be lower.

One way to increase the BMR is to maximize lean body tissue by participating regularly in endurance and strength building activities.

BMR gradually decreases with increasing age, generally because of a decrease in fat free mass.
BMR or Basal Metabolic Rate