Why do people say skinny people have faster metabolisms?

FalseLead
FalseLead Posts: 6
in Health and Weight Loss
I always wonder about this. Because technically speaking, from a general perspective, barring no metabolic anomalies such as hypo and hyperthroidism ( a very small sample of the population), a smaller person will have a SLOWER metabolic rate just because they have less mass to begin with. A larger person who is 200 lbs will burn more calories at rest and exercising than a 100 lb person. OBVIOUSLY. So why then do people always says, "Oh, they just must have a fast metabolism." OK then...well, where did all of these fast metabolisms go then since 1980 when the population started packing on the pounds at an extreme rate?

Is the whole, "smaller people have fast metabolisms" thing another excuse to make people feel better about themselves and the fact that, let's be real, they ATE themselves into being overweight/obesity?

I mean, when I gain weight, it's because I know damn well I have been eating too much when I am not hungry and past fullness. Of course I will gain weight no matter what my metabolic rate is! That's what the body does with excess food. And when I cut that out, I drop weight. So what gives with this line of thought?

Replies

  • Bumbeen
    Bumbeen Posts: 263 Member
    Some people can literally burn off excess calories, they usually do not have huge appetites either. There is a bbc horizon episode on this too. They are also better adapted to consuming sugar grains and industrial seed oils. It is genetic
  • now_or_never13
    now_or_never13 Posts: 1,575 Member
    That smaller person could have a faster metabolism due to muscle mass. Muscle takes up far less space than fat but does a great deal when it comes to making your metabolism faster.
  • KelliW_runner
    KelliW_runner Posts: 150 Member
    For two people of the exact same weight, they can have different resting metabolic rates based upon lean body mass (essentially, %BF), gender, age, genetics, and use of any stimulants. On top of that, some people have difficulty sitting still, so even if both are in relatively sedentary jobs, the "fidgety" person will burn more. Add to that exercise and you are going to have a very large potential range of TDEE for two individuals of the same mass.
  • FalseLead
    FalseLead Posts: 6
    I'm not talking about people of the same mass though. I am talking about those people who insist that a fat person (300lbs) has a slow metabolism, relative to a 100lb person. That's a damn lie.

    The metabolism excuse is almost as bad as the genetics excuse, because human evolution in which everyone from 1980 on now has fat genes makes no sense especially when they had skinny ancestors only a few generations before.
  • concordancia
    concordancia Posts: 5,320 Member
    Studies have shown that without logging, most people mis estimate how much they eat and move. Often, a thinner person will eat a large meal on a special occasion, but might eat less throughout the average day. Their overweight friend only sees the big meal and hears about how them thinner one eats all the time and all kinds of junk, and so looks for an explanation that its what they believe to be the facts.

    I find it odd because in almost every other thing, people believe themselves average. A students and D students are equally likely to think they performed as well as their peers. But with food, and even exercise, people tend to think themselves on the opposite end of the spectrum than they really are, rather than just believing themselves to be average.

    It has been said that humans are the only species that lies; we are exceptionally adept at lying to ourselves.
  • Bumbeen
    Bumbeen Posts: 263 Member
    You should also consider the fact that in some people, overheating increases the rate they burn calories significantly. Fat mass is regulated by the brain, it isn't like your body has no say in how much fat you're carrying. If you are naturally overweight on your current diet, your body literally wants to be fat.
  • Bumbeen
    Bumbeen Posts: 263 Member
    I'm not talking about people of the same mass though. I am talking about those people who insist that a fat person (300lbs) has a slow metabolism, relative to a 100lb person. That's a damn lie.

    The metabolism excuse is almost as bad as the genetics excuse, because human evolution in which everyone from 1980 on now has fat genes makes no sense.

    Obviously. People that say that just don't know what they're talking about.
  • Swedgen
    Swedgen Posts: 29
    I don't know if it's due to metabolic rates or genetics or just dumb luck, but I know people, and have known them for years, who eat way more than I do, are less active, and haven't gained a pound in years. I work with 2 men, who are brothers, and they have donuts for breakfast, 2 bags of chips EVERYDAY for break, and eat HUGE lunches, and they never gain a pound. Obviously something is allowing them to be able to do this, whereas I can't even smell a bag of chips without gaining weight. As a person who has been overweight for around 20 years I'm not interested in excuses. I know what has caused me to gain weight, and I'm now seriously taking steps to correct it. But the fact is there are people who get away with eating crap that I could never get away with. Why? I don't know. But there's gotta be something.
  • BigGuy47
    BigGuy47 Posts: 1,768 Member
    Growing up one of the kids in the neighborhood was like this. Could eat just about anything and did, but stayed thin. He didn't have a bunch of lean mass, wasn't particularly strong.

    Contrary to popular opinion around here I'm going to go out on a limb and say that there are a few special snowflakes out there.
  • llkilgore
    llkilgore Posts: 1,169 Member
    Growing up one of the kids in the neighborhood was like this. Could eat just about anything and did, but stayed thin. He didn't have a bunch of lean mass, wasn't particularly strong.

    Contrary to popular opinion around here I'm going to go out on a limb and say that there are a few special snowflakes out there.

    I was a skinny kid and skinny to "skinny fat" adult who could eat whatever I wanted without crossing the line into the overweight range until the latter half of my 40s. Maybe I did have a faster than average metabolic rate, but I realize now that it had more than a little bit to do with how I defined "whatever I want." I got fat when I got lazy about cooking. I got fat when we fell into the habit of eating out once or twice a week and eating more "quick and easy" processed food at home. I got fat when I got in the habit of keeping 12 packs of cokes in the fridge, and not the sugar free sort. I'm sure the same sort of thing happens to a lot of empty-nesters, who blame it on age, and also fresh-out-of-the-nesters, who blame it on bad genes.

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