What is basal metabolic rate?

What is basal metabolic rate?

• A. Resting metabolism.
• B. Metabolic rate during intense exercise.
• C. The total energy expenditure for a day.
• D. Energy intake from food.

Answer: (A)

Basal metabolic rate is the energy the body needs to maintain basic life-sustaining functions while at rest and fasting in a neutrally temperate environment. It reflects the minimum rate of energy expenditure necessary to support organs like the heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, and brain when you’re not active. That’s why resting metabolism is the best description: it captures the baseline energy use without exercise or meals involved. The other ideas describe different things—energy used during intense exercise is much higher due to active muscles; the total energy expenditure for a day includes activity and thermogenesis; and energy intake from food is about calories consumed, not spent.

Basal metabolic rate is the energy the body needs to maintain basic life-sustaining functions while at rest and fasting in a neutrally temperate environment. It reflects the minimum rate of energy expenditure necessary to support organs like the heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, and brain when you’re not active. That’s why resting metabolism is the best description: it captures the baseline energy use without exercise or meals involved. The other ideas describe different things—energy used during intense exercise is much higher due to active muscles; the total energy expenditure for a day includes activity and thermogenesis; and energy intake from food is about calories consumed, not spent.