Burn calories sleeping
September 28, 2010
RESEARCHERS at the University
of Sydney have published a new
study showing that exercise can
help the body burn calories whilst
resting.
Published in the Public Library of
Science ONE (PLoS ONE), the
study proved that performing even
low levels of daily activity (such as a
daily 30 minute brisk walk) can
increase cellular metabolism and
thus its ability to burn calories
whilst at rest.
“Our research using a mammal
model shows a sedentary lifestyle is
doubly bad and may lead to weight
gain because energy is not used up
by muscular activity and metabolic
signalling is disrupted, which
reduces the body’s ability to burn
energy,” said study author
Associate Professor Frank
Seebacher.
The current established theory
that the metabolism of both
humans and animals increases with
drops in temperature (below 30-
35oC) was also challanged by the
research, which found that whilst
native Australian bush rats
metabolism did speed up in colder
conditions, it stayed at the same
level in the absence of exercise.
“Rats that had exercised for half
and hour a day did show a
metabolic response to cold, and
burnt more energy as expected,”
Seebacher said.
“But in rats that did not exercise,
lowering the air temperature even
down to a chilly 12oC did not
stimulate their metabolism and
energy consumption at all,” he
added.
In summation of the study the
researchers said that physical
activity opened ip a number of
cryptic genes that control the rate
of cellular metabolism.
“In other words, you don’t need
to take exercise too seriously, just
take it regularly,” said Seebacher.
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