Metabolism (lesson two) Flashcards
what is metabolism
your body is constantly performing chemical reactions. The sum of all these reactions is referred to as your metabolism
what is your metabolism made up of?
Metabolism is made up of catabolic and anabolic reactions
Catabolism
Catabolism is the breakdown of materials in an organism
anabolism
Anabolism is the building of complex molecules from simpler ones
Endothermic
Endothermic animals like mammals and birds have higher energy demands because they use a great deal of energy to keep their bodies warm
Ectothermic
Ectothermic animals like reptiles on the other hand do not have this energy demand so can survive on much less energy intake
What Affects Your Metabolism?
- Body size
- Physical Activity
- Age
- Sex
- Heredity Factors
- Disease
how does body size affect your metabolism?
The larger the body, the more energy required to survive
how does physical activity affect your metabolism?
Muscle burns more energy than fat, so more physically fit and active people require more energy
how does age affect your metabolism?
Metabolic rate decreases with age
how does sex affect your metabolism?
Males are typically larger in size and tend to have more muscle so on average require more energy than women
how does Hereditary factors Affect your metabolism?
Some individuals will have naturally high or low metabolic rate
how does disease Affect your metabolism?
For example, disorders with the Thyroid (i.e. hypothyroidism vs. hyperthyroidism)
what is the unit for measuring energy?
The standard unit for measuring energy is the joule (J)
- Because this is such a small unit we generally measure energy in kilojoules (kJ)
what are calories
Generally, food energy though is measured in “calories”
- 1 calorie is really the amount of energy required to raise 1 gram of water by 1 °C
- Food labels are really reported in kilocalories though
- 1 kC = 4180 J
