3 ms·

> How much can basal human metabolism really vary anyways? The range is within 200-300 kCal for people of the same height and mass: http://examine.com/faq/does

> How much can basal human metabolism really vary anyways? The range is within 200-300 kCal for people of the same height and mass: http://examine.com/faq/does-metabolism-vary-between-two-people/ http://examine.com/faq/does-metabolism-vary-between-two-peop... Also, you are correct to ask how data was collected: people routinely fudge reports of intake and activity, to the point that self-reported data is considered completely unreliable.

Jweb_Guru 10y ago
You might try reading the linked study, which answers the question of how RMR data were collected (hint: it's accurate). Actually, this entire site would benefit from actually reading the paper.
- npsimons 10y ago
  You mean the broken link to the study? I'll posit you didn't even click through the link I provided. Pot, meet kettle. Just judging from the article (which leaves a lot to be desired), though, it sounds like a small sample size, with no control group, and hasn't been reproduced. Edit: I'm not saying it's impossible; it's a known issue: http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/69/6/1117.full http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/69/6/1117.full There are reasons that most doctors recommend lifestyle changes, slower maintainable weight loss (eg 1lb a week) and resistance training to combat muscle wasting. The Biggest Loser is already picking outliers, then putting them through programs that are definitely not sustainable long term. It's very possible that all this study shows is that losing weight TBL style is very bad for you, not that everyone gains the weight back. I still haven't after nine years.
  - Jweb_Guru 10y ago
    The link isn't broken, and I have absolutely read it. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/oby.21538/full http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/oby.21538/full. Please note their methodology. And metabolic adaptation is fairly well established at this point, it doesn't just apply to people who lose tons of weight at a rapid rate.
    - anatoly 10y ago
      Hi, can you address this comment on reddit that I found interesting? https://www.reddit.com/r/Health/comments/4hhdsj/the_science_of_fat_after_the_biggest_loser_their/d2re6qs https://www.reddit.com/r/Health/comments/4hhdsj/the_science_... On the face of it it isn't obvious to me why using a least-square model trained on just the baseline of these 16 individuals (the way they predict RMR in the paper) is better than the standard equation, and if the standard equation is a much closer fit to measurement, this seems suspect. But I know next to nothing about metabolic measurements.

Jweb_Guru 10y ago

You might try reading the linked study, which answers the question of how RMR data were collected (hint: it's accurate). Actually, this entire site would benefit from actually reading the paper.

npsimons 10y ago
You mean the broken link to the study? I'll posit you didn't even click through the link I provided. Pot, meet kettle. Just judging from the article (which leaves a lot to be desired), though, it sounds like a small sample size, with no control group, and hasn't been reproduced. Edit: I'm not saying it's impossible; it's a known issue: http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/69/6/1117.full http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/69/6/1117.full There are reasons that most doctors recommend lifestyle changes, slower maintainable weight loss (eg 1lb a week) and resistance training to combat muscle wasting. The Biggest Loser is already picking outliers, then putting them through programs that are definitely not sustainable long term. It's very possible that all this study shows is that losing weight TBL style is very bad for you, not that everyone gains the weight back. I still haven't after nine years.
- Jweb_Guru 10y ago
  The link isn't broken, and I have absolutely read it. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/oby.21538/full http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/oby.21538/full. Please note their methodology. And metabolic adaptation is fairly well established at this point, it doesn't just apply to people who lose tons of weight at a rapid rate.
  - anatoly 10y ago
    Hi, can you address this comment on reddit that I found interesting? https://www.reddit.com/r/Health/comments/4hhdsj/the_science_of_fat_after_the_biggest_loser_their/d2re6qs https://www.reddit.com/r/Health/comments/4hhdsj/the_science_... On the face of it it isn't obvious to me why using a least-square model trained on just the baseline of these 16 individuals (the way they predict RMR in the paper) is better than the standard equation, and if the standard equation is a much closer fit to measurement, this seems suspect. But I know next to nothing about metabolic measurements.