metabolism

20 Stories

Ultramarathoners Show Us There's a Metabolic Limit
Ultramarathoners Show Us
There's a Metabolic Limit
NEW STUDY
Oct 22, 2025 9:44 AM CDT

Ultramarathoners Show Us There's a Metabolic Limit

Energy expenditure is limited to 2.5 times one's BMR over long periods: study

(Newser) - Elite ultramarathon runners can push their bodies to incredible extremes, but a new study suggests even they can't break through a fundamental metabolic ceiling. Researchers tracked 14 endurance athletes—mostly professionals, including 10 ultramarathoners—over the course of a year, using advanced metabolic testing. They found these athletes could...

Think Your Lab Is Too Chunky? There's a Reason
For These Dogs, a 'Double
Whammy' on Chonking Out
NEW STUDY
Mar 23, 2024 5:30 AM CDT

For These Dogs, a 'Double Whammy' on Chonking Out

Labradors, other flat-coated retrievers have genetic mutation that predisposes them to obesity

(Newser) - Every pet owner has to take care to keep their furry friends happy, healthy, and at a safe weight. For those who have a Labrador or flat-coated retriever in their charge, however, that last task might prove a bit more difficult. That's due to a "double whammy" with...

This Could Explain Disease Risk for Night Owls
This Could Explain
Disease Risk for
Night Owls
NEW STUDY
Sep 20, 2022 9:40 AM CDT

This Could Explain Disease Risk for Night Owls

Study finds people who go to sleep, wake later are less active, burn more carbs than early birds

(Newser) - There are hidden health risks to being a night owl, including a higher risk of heart disease, which might come down to metabolism, according to new research comparing the sleep patterns of night owls and early birds. There are clear differences between the two: Night owls generally feel most energized...

Anorexia's Not All in Your Head
Anorexia Isn't
Exactly What We Thought
new study
Jul 17, 2019 7:00 PM CDT

Anorexia Isn't Exactly What We Thought

It isn't all in people's heads, according to a new study

(Newser) - Turns out anorexia isn't all mental—a possible relief to people who've been blamed for having a devastating illness, the Guardian reports. In a new study , researchers analyzed the DNA of 17,000 people with anorexia against 55,000 without, and flagged eight genes connecting anorexia with psychological...

Silicon Valley Is on This Diet, So I Tried It Too

Business Insider writer felt like a 'superhero' after subsisting on eggs, butter, bacon

(Newser) - Silicon Valley techies adopt some unusual eating habits to boost productivity, including one firm where workers fast on Tuesdays. Melia Robinson wanted to see how one of these dieting regimens would affect her, and she concludes for Business Insider that it "vastly improved my life." The course she...

People With Chronic Fatigue May Be Fighting 'Hibernation'

New research finds a striking similarity

(Newser) - Chronic fatigue syndrome is a debilitating but still mysterious ailment often marked by long-term fatigue, pain, and memory loss. But symptoms of CFS, or myalgic encephalomyelitis, vary considerably and no cause has been determined or diagnostic test developed—leading to the widespread notion that patients are dealing with a mental,...

Study: Carbs Are Not a Dieter's Enemy

A physician's mathematical model proves to be correct

(Newser) - Think carbs are a dieter's enemy? It turns out restricting one's fat intake leads to a 68% greater loss of body fat than restricting the same amount of calories through carbohydrates in obese adults on strictly controlled diets—and this is in spite of the fact that a...

3 Meals a Day: Rooted in Bad Science, Racism

Skip breakfast? Who cares: meal times are 'metabolically unimportant'

(Newser) - Ever wonder why people bolt from their desks at noon and head for the local coffee shop or deli? Surely not everyone gets hungry at the same time, right? Well, the lunch tradition—in fact, the tradition of eating three meals a day—can be traced back as far as...

Scientists Find New Obesity Clue in Tanzania

It turns out Westerners and hunter-gatherers have same metabolic rate

(Newser) - Scientists have long thought our hunter-gatherer ancestors burned through many more calories than the TV-watching, desk-sitting people of today, but a new study suggests that may not be the case—and the finding could inform our very modern-day battle against obesity. Researchers studied 30 members of the still-hunter-gatherer Hadza tribe...

Need to Lose Weight? Freeze Yourself
Need to Lose Weight? Freeze Yourself
Oct 29, 2010 12:07 PM CDT

Need to Lose Weight? Freeze Yourself

Proponent sheds 30 pounds by subjecting himself to cold

(Newser) - If you’re desperate for a new way to lose weight, forget feeling the burn and try feeling the chill, suggests Ray Cronise, an ex-NASA scientist who lost 30 pounds in six weeks by subjecting himself to low temperatures. The theory is simple: Your body wants to maintain a constant...

Egg-cellent News: Fried Breakfast 'Is Best'
 Egg-cellent News: 
 Fried Breakfast 
 'Is Best' 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Apr 4, 2010 7:15 AM CDT

Egg-cellent News: Fried Breakfast 'Is Best'

Foods program body to break down fat rest of day: study

(Newser) - A breakfast of fried eggs and bacon or sausage may be the best way to "program" the body to efficiently break down fats the rest of the day, according to a new study. Breakfasts rich in carbohydrates, such as cereal, may only prepare the body to break down carbs,...

Sitting All Day Is Making You Fat



 Sitting All Day 
 Is Making You Fat 
STUDIES SAY:
Feb 24, 2010 11:59 AM CST

Sitting All Day Is Making You Fat

Sedentary life destroys gains of exercise, makes metabolism go haywire

(Newser) - Exercise all you want, but that office chair—or your couch at home—will erase your good intentions. Multiple studies, Olivia Judson writes, have shown that people who sit for extended periods can’t help but pack on the pounds. Consider this result: “Among people who sit in front...

Size Zero Mom Trounces Big Boys in Eating Competition

Juliet Lee swears she never practices

(Newser) - Juliet Lee only eats one meal a day—but sometimes it’s a really big meal. The 44-year-old, who weights in at 100 pounds, is the 11th ranked competitive eater in the world, but she swears she never practices. The talent comes entirely from her one-meal-a-day habit. “It’s...

Sorry, Exercise Doesn't Boost Metabolism

Research busts myth that workouts keep burning fat hours later

(Newser) - You went for a half-hour run this afternoon, so it’s OK to have that extra slice of cake tonight, right? That’s actually wrong, say scientists, and they’re just as surprised about it as you. The now-debunked assumption was that exercise leaves the body with more power to...

Your Body Wants You to Stay Fat
 Your Body Wants You to Stay Fat 
Jun 3, 2008 12:34 PM CDT

Your Body Wants You to Stay Fat

Keeping weight off made much tougher by brain, hormone cues to get it back

(Newser) - Your body doesn't want you to lose weight, scientists say, and makes it tough to keep off pounds lost. Scientists tell the Los Angeles Times that brain and hormone cues increase post-diet as natural processes try to get that old figure back. And while research into the heavy issues is...

What We Can Learn From Being Dog-Tired

Sled dogs' metabolism may yield clues on fighting human fatigue

(Newser) - Alaskan sled dogs racing for days on end don’t get tired out the way a human runner would, the New York Times reports, and researchers eager to imitate this fatigue resistance in people—particularly soldiers—say it’s because they’re somehow able to change their metabolism. “Suddenly...

Health History Hidden in Urine
 Health History Hidden in Urine 
Apr 21, 2008 10:07 AM CDT

Health History Hidden in Urine

Metabolites differ across national, ethnic boundaries, could offer insight into disease

(Newser) - Urine does indeed hold metabolic clues, researchers have found, and could shed light on blood pressure and heart problems, the Times of London reports. "Metabolic profiling can tell us how specific aspects of a person’s diet and how much they drink are contributing to their risks for certain...

Feds OK Wyeth's New Antidepressant
Feds OK Wyeth's New Antidepressant
Feb 29, 2008 7:41 PM CST

Feds OK Wyeth's New Antidepressant

Faced with generic threats to its popular Effexor XR, company banking on Pristiq

(Newser) - Antidepressant Effexor XR will soon lose patent protection, and maker Wyeth is hoping Pristiq, the successor drug approved today by the FDA, will soften the financial blow. Higher-ups at the company gush over Pristiq's advantages, including zero acclimation time and no liver interaction, and hope that sales will offset losses...

Lift Weights, Reap Hefty Benefits
Lift Weights, Reap Hefty Benefits
Jan 21, 2008 7:45 PM CST

Lift Weights, Reap Hefty Benefits

Strength training provides health benefits that aerobic workouts can't

(Newser) - Pumping iron has long been known to improve strength and prevent injury, but evidence increasingly points to a wide range of other benefits, writes Judy Foreman in the Boston Globe. The findings—decreased heart disease and neck pain, improved metabolism and balance—are driving groups such as the American Heart...

Diabetes Research Shows Role of Bones, Brain

New hormones and body systems make the disease even more complex

(Newser) - The New York Times surveys what it calls an "explosion" of recent breakthroughs in diabetes research, painting a much more complex portrait of how the body balances sugar in the bloodstream, and offering radically different possibilities for treatment. One of the most surprising discoveries is that bones produce a...

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