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This is correct. Resting metabolic rate doesn't vary by more than a couple hundred calories per day among humans of the same weight. And even that difference

This is correct. Resting metabolic rate doesn't vary by more than a couple hundred calories per day among humans of the same weight. And even that difference can be predicted by things like muscle vs fat composition. Nobody has a metabolism that is defying thermodynamics and creating mass that you didn't intake as food.

jb_gericke 4y ago
Body composition has a rather large effect on BMR (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3661116 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3661116).
orwin 4y ago
This is untrue, you have to take into account the environment. If you used to live in a cold area like Quebec and move to let's say LA or Houston, without changing your diet, your metabolism will change a lot. If you compare two neighbors, you're right.
- nradov 4y ago
  No that's not how it works. Unless you're running around naked in the snow like Wim Hof, your environment has very little impact on daily energy expenditure. People in Quebec and Houston both spend most of their time indoors.
jjeaff 4y ago
You say that as if "a couple hundred calories a day" is not much! Have you ever done the math? 200 calories can mean the difference of two people eating the exact same calories every day where one maintains the same weight, and the other gains 2 lbs a month, or 24 lbs a year...nearly 100 lbs in just 4 years! You are proving the point that variance in metabolism can be a HUGE factor.
- nradov 4y ago
  Resting metabolic rate increases along with weight. Just keeping adipose tissue alive takes a significant amount of energy. People don't keep gaining weight indefinitely unless they also keep continuously increasing intake. Most people eventually reach an equilibrium, although that equilibrium is often much heavier than optimal. (I have done the math.)
  - jjeaff 4y ago
    You will reach an equilibrium after gaining a not insignificant amount of weight, but of course hunger hormones tend to increase as well. But my point stands that a few percentage points difference in metabolic rate makes a big difference. And likely could lead to one person becoming overweight while another person with identical habits maintains a healthy weight.
BizarroLand 4y ago
That is incorrect. Many things can cause the human body to burn fewer calories than height, weight, and activity would suggest, and one of the easiest ways to determine if someone is affected by one of those metabolic dysregulations is to take their temperature. If their temperature isn't 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit or very close to it, they are metabolically compromised (note, of course, that people will practically never have a resting body temperature of greater than 98.6) I had a full dexa scan and calorimetric exam done and my body was burning approximately 300 calories a day under what it was supposed to. My resting body temperature was 97.3. If I ate what my TDEE should have been I would have been putting on half a pound a week or more. Eating more and exercising to rebuild muscle lost to over dieting has corrected that issue. But saying that it doesn't exist is completely wrong. The math is still "calories in, calories out" but you can't assume that "calories out" is static and inflexible. There are many variables at play in the human body.

jb_gericke 4y ago

Body composition has a rather large effect on BMR (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3661116 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3661116).

orwin 4y ago

This is untrue, you have to take into account the environment. If you used to live in a cold area like Quebec and move to let's say LA or Houston, without changing your diet, your metabolism will change a lot. If you compare two neighbors, you're right.

nradov 4y ago
No that's not how it works. Unless you're running around naked in the snow like Wim Hof, your environment has very little impact on daily energy expenditure. People in Quebec and Houston both spend most of their time indoors.

jjeaff 4y ago

You say that as if "a couple hundred calories a day" is not much! Have you ever done the math? 200 calories can mean the difference of two people eating the exact same calories every day where one maintains the same weight, and the other gains 2 lbs a month, or 24 lbs a year...nearly 100 lbs in just 4 years! You are proving the point that variance in metabolism can be a HUGE factor.

nradov 4y ago
Resting metabolic rate increases along with weight. Just keeping adipose tissue alive takes a significant amount of energy. People don't keep gaining weight indefinitely unless they also keep continuously increasing intake. Most people eventually reach an equilibrium, although that equilibrium is often much heavier than optimal. (I have done the math.)
- jjeaff 4y ago
  You will reach an equilibrium after gaining a not insignificant amount of weight, but of course hunger hormones tend to increase as well. But my point stands that a few percentage points difference in metabolic rate makes a big difference. And likely could lead to one person becoming overweight while another person with identical habits maintains a healthy weight.

BizarroLand 4y ago

That is incorrect. Many things can cause the human body to burn fewer calories than height, weight, and activity would suggest, and one of the easiest ways to determine if someone is affected by one of those metabolic dysregulations is to take their temperature. If their temperature isn't 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit or very close to it, they are metabolically compromised (note, of course, that people will practically never have a resting body temperature of greater than 98.6) I had a full dexa scan and calorimetric exam done and my body was burning approximately 300 calories a day under what it was supposed to. My resting body temperature was 97.3. If I ate what my TDEE should have been I would have been putting on half a pound a week or more. Eating more and exercising to rebuild muscle lost to over dieting has corrected that issue. But saying that it doesn't exist is completely wrong. The math is still "calories in, calories out" but you can't assume that "calories out" is static and inflexible. There are many variables at play in the human body.