Does age affect calorie burn?

wildredbill
wildredbill Posts: 26 Member
edited April 2019 in Fitness and Exercise
I see a lot of articles about how many calories a person should eat depending on their age. What I don't see are discussions about how age may affect the number of calories a person burns depending on their age.

I am a 80 year old male. Three days a week I love going to the Y and swim 20 laps. ( Strength train two days.) If I am swimming the same speed as a 20 year old male, the same weight I am, am I burning the same number of calories he is? I think my heart is working harder than his is. Does that make any difference?

What do you think? Does age make any difference in how many calories are burned, or is it just you have to work harder to burn those calories as you get older?

Replies

  • Cahgetsfit
    Cahgetsfit Posts: 1,912 Member
    INteresting question to which I do not know the answer! So I will follow the thread and hopefully be enlightened!
  • wildredbill
    wildredbill Posts: 26 Member
    When I am swimming laps, my mind wanders. Question came up today while swimming. Google really didn't help much. But then I am no tech guru, for sure.
  • Theoldguy1
    Theoldguy1 Posts: 2,496 Member
    Your swimming efficiency probably makes more difference than age. Someone swimming effortlessly with perfect form will burn fewer calories than their twin that is thrashing around to keep the same pace.
  • wildredbill
    wildredbill Posts: 26 Member
    edited April 2019
    What if we assume both swimmers efficiency is the same. The only difference is one is 80 and the other 20 years old. Would they both be burning the same number of calories swimming the same speed over the same length of time.
    When I manually record my lap swimming it only asks the length of time and speed or effort. There is no accounting for age.
    What do you think?
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,226 Member
    Theoldguy1 wrote: »
    Your swimming efficiency probably makes more difference than age. Someone swimming effortlessly with perfect form will burn fewer calories than their twin that is thrashing around to keep the same pace.

    Per meter maybe. Per minute, maybe not.

    OP: Think about it. Work - in pretty much the physics sense of "work" - burns calories. Calories = fuel.

    Your swim, per km, burns around the same number of calories as anyone else's, after adjusting for body size/configuration and some efficiency factors (inefficient likely = more calories per meter, but per minute who knows).
  • wildredbill
    wildredbill Posts: 26 Member
    Good point, AnnPT77. It's a simple matter of Physics. Calories, like ergs, and joules, are all measurements of work.
    So does an 80 year old have to work harder, or the same, to burn the same calories of a 20 year old to swim the same distance. If one has to work harder, by definition, aren't they burning more calories?
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,226 Member
    wildredbill wrote: »
    Good point, AnnPT77. It's a simple matter of Physics. Calories, like ergs, and joules, are all measurements of work.
    So does an 80 year old have to work harder, or the same, to burn the same calories of a 20 year old to swim the same distance. If one has to work harder, by definition, aren't they burning more calories?

    Perception of difficulty is irrelevant. Think about it: If I get lots fitter while maintaining weight, any given exercise (same type/duration/intensity) will feel easier and easier, but burn roughly the same number of calories. If your example 20-year-old and 80-year-old are swimming the same distance with the same (technical) efficiency, and are the same size/weight, I'd suspect they're burning similar numbers of calories.

    But I don't know how to think of "working harder" (your phrase) except in terms of perception. If you do have a different interpretation of "work harder", please expand on what you mean. (I'd observe that there are certain things I do that many decades-younger people would have to "work harder" to do than I have to . . . how should I think about that? BTW, if it matters, I'm 63, not 80. ;) )

    There's some idea that METS-based exercise estimates should be adjusted for demographic characteristics (age, sex, body mass) in order to apply to individuals rather than populations, but this seems mostly to do with the RMR component. I'm neither knowledgeable enough about physiology nor interested enough in the theoretical question puzzle out how that applies, if at all, in this scenario, but there's more info here: https://sites.google.com/site/compendiumofphysicalactivities/corrected-mets
  • wildredbill
    wildredbill Posts: 26 Member
    Very interesting addition to the conversation, Ann. You are right. It is my "perception" that the activities I do as an 80 year old are more difficult, and I have to "work harder" to accomplish them, than when I was 20. The "compendium" you offered seems to acknowledge that age is a factor in the RMR, as you state. "the RMR (resting metabolism rate) decreases with age." So age along with weight, height, sex, and body mass are all individual variables with regard to the effort involved in various physical activities.

    Losing weight also seems to be harder now. Years ago all I needed to do was drink some grapefruit juice after every meal and lose weight. Now not only would that not work like it use to, it would interfere with medications. Swimming, like someone else mentioned, also makes me really hungry. That's why I have to come here and count calories.

    The physical cost like, faster heart rate, sore muscles, longer recovery time, are also greater now than when I was younger. For me the hot tub helps me keep from getting sore muscles after swimming. When I was younger I could swim a lot faster with the same effort and not bother with the hot tub. No sore muscles. But, as we all know, the more we keep exercising the easier it gets. The only remedy is to either increase speed or distance as one swims, or reps, or resistance, in the weight room.
  • robthephotog
    robthephotog Posts: 81 Member
    I think hormones play a more important role with age than simply calories and macro/micros.

    For example most mens testosterone starts dropping by 35 and continues. If you have low testosterone levels thatll affect both muscle and weight ultimately.

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