A Low Metabolism Leads to a Longer Life

I've read some articles out there suggesting that longevity, or living a longer life, is the result of a lower metabolism. And I believe that's true.

People say that when you first start dieting, it's easy to lose weight quickly. When you're already fat, any amount of dieting will result in quick weight loss. But as you get thinner, it becomes harder to lose weight.

Why is this?

Metabolism.

The bigger the body you have, the more calories you need to sustain it. The smaller the body, the less calories are needed.

Therefore, if you're already overweight, your metabolism is already running at a high level, trying to convert as much food into energy as possible. Hence, if a fat person consumed half as many calories as usual, their body is forced to burn large amounts of fat.

And the converse is true. It's very easy for a skinny person to gain weight, simply because their metabolism is running slowly. If they were to double their calorie intake, their body would store all that food as fat.

But you might ask, "Then how come there are skinny people who can eat, and eat, and eat, and never gain weight?"

That's because metabolism runs at varying levels for each person. Some people are born with high metabolic rates, while others are born with lower rates.

Also, young people naturally have higher rates. Plus, young people tend to be more energetic, and just exercising will raise your metabolism. The older you get, the slower your metabolism runs. Typically, your metabolism decreases by 5% every 10 years, after the age of 40.

Eventually you get to a certain point of old age, when the metabolism runs too slow. The body has difficulty fighting infections because it needs energy to produce antibodies. It also cannot repair itself, because it needs energy to grow new tissues. People in this state tend to become shut-in, don't exercise, become overweight, and it all snowballs from there.

The trick therefore, is to keep your metabolism running efficiently for as long as possible. And that sheds light on why some people live longer than others. That is, by preventing your metabolism from "burning out" too quickly, you can maintain a healthy body for a longer period.

For example, you can probably walk all day long if you need to. But if you run, you'll likely collapse from exhaustion after 30 minutes if you're like most people. The same is true with your metabolism. If you keep it working efficiently at a low rate, you can sustain that metabolism for a very long time, and live to be a 100 years old.

People who manage to keep themselves slim, tend to have lower metabolic rates, and therefore can sustain that for decades and decades and enjoy good health.