Have you ever wondered why children can play outside during the chilly autumn months without jackets and not feel cold; or why they stubbornly refuse to wear their coats on chilly mornings while walking to school; or in the case of my 4 year old niece, walk around the house barefoot in her bathing suit during the dead of winter? Why don’t children complain about the cold and why do they get away with eating so many calories without getting fat? Most children (including my twin nephews) will eat you out of house and home. They eat twice the number of calories of most adults and do not gain weight. Their energy levels are herculean and, like most children, they run from the time they get up in the morning until they fall into bed at night.

So what happens to us between childhood and adulthood that makes us become heavy and lethargic? What happens to our energy levels as we age and why do we resist going outside and playing once it starts getting chilly? And, why oh why, do we eat less than we did in our teens, twenties (or even thirties) but continue to gain weight as older adults? To a great extent, these changes occur because our “set-point” changes.

According to set-point theory, our body weight is kept fairly constant in response to an internal “control system” that helps us maintain our weight within certain parameters. Think of it as a type of thermostat. Each person’s set-point is different and we can deviate a few pounds in either direction, but the system’s goal is to help the individual function at their optimal level.

Some researchers believe the set-point is physiological while others believe it is psychological. The physiological proposal suggests that the basal metabolic rate changes in response to any change in weight. For example, when we follow a diet that is too strict, our body reacts by sending out signals (i.e., hunger pangs) in an attempt to remind us to eat. If we ignore the signals and continue to diet, the body responds by causing us to feel depressed and lethargic. Ultimately, we slow down enough so that fewer calories are expended. Thus, via a change in metabolic rate, the body’s ideal set-point is once again maintained. This is the body’s way of restoring that feeling of well-being experienced when at the set-point.

The physiological and psychological viewpoints combined suggest that when we stay close to our optimal weight, our set-point allows us to function as efficiently as possible while it acts to make us feel more optimistic and stable. Even when not depressed, as adults we move less than we did when younger; and as we become more and more sedentary through the years, fewer calories are used in playing, running, jumping, skipping, walking to school, etc., and more are stored in our bodies as fat. As years pass, we develop increasing layers of fatty insulation that become difficult to lose. And, we diet like crazy only to regain the pounds we have lost (plus more) as soon as we begin our normal eating patterns again. Our body strives to stabilize its weight. This is one of the reasons people who stay on a diet hit those “plateaus” where no additional weight is lost no matter how conscientious they are in following the diet. The body is dedicated to maintaining the status quo in the form of how much fat is stored in case of need. Since we have become inefficient energy users of the calories we ingest through food by being consistently sedentary, our “set-point” or body thermostat becomes set on chubby. You see, the body is better at managing fat storage than the person is. The body feels best when it gets the calories it needs to maintain the set-point; the individual feels best when he gets the calories he wants in spite of set-point.

Since dieting in itself does not seem to change the set-point, can anything change it? The good news is there are some indications that the set-point can be adjusted. With exercise, the set-point can be lowered, making it easier to lose weight. A great way of using calories for energy and not for fat storage is accomplished through exercise, and plenty of it. While adding muscle bulk can help do this to some extent, engaging in aerobic exercise is even better. Exercise affects metabolic rate by making the muscle cells healthier and enabling them to work more efficiently. Exercise helps to regulate blood sugar, decrease hunger, and is a great mood elevator because it releases endorphins in the bloodstream and helps you feel good. A person who feels good tends to be more active. So, give that internal furnace of yours a good Fall tune-up. Get active, tone up, and dial down your set-point.

ref: Better Life

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