Metabolism

Customers in many pharmacies may soon be seeing the latest in new devices for the health conscious. A sports physiologist is developing the metabometer, a device that he hopes will measure the human body's ability to produce energy efficiently.

The rate at which the body produces energy is called metabolism. Different people have different metabolic rates that indicate how easily they can produce energy. The same person may have different metabolic rates, depending on the circumstances. Different species of animals also have different metabolic rates.

There are several factors that affect metabolic rate. One factor is the type of food a person or animal eats. For example, some foods are hard to digest, such as complex carbohydrates like rice. The body has to work harder to get energy from rice. If a person ate a steady diet of rice, the result would be a higher metabolic rate.

Another factor affecting metabolism is the climate of the environment. Temperature may cause metabolism to change. People and animals that live in cold environments need to produce more energy in order to keep warm. Most animals that live in polar regions have high metabolisms. If people move from a warm climate to a cold climate, their metabolic rates will decrease.

Metabolic rate also differs depending on activity level. Changing the level of activity may cause the body to change its metabolism because different activities require different amounts of energy. For example, basketball players use more energy than golfers so their metabolic rates are generally higher.

To some degree, metabolic rate is influenced by genetic inheritance. Children of parents who have high metabolic rates tend to have high metabolic rates also. This is because the body chemistry of the children is a combination of the body chemistry of the parents.

Metabolism is regulated by hormones produced by the thyroid gland, a tiny gland located at the base of the neck. These hormones regulate the behavior of all the cells in the body so that enough energy is produced. The metabometer will work by measuring hormone levels in the blood.