How does the basal metabolic rate of humans affect their productivity in society? There are several articles that talk about weight loss and metabolism or how to boost your metabolism. Strangely enough, there are rarely any articles about how metabolism can affect other factors of an individual other than weight loss and alcohol tolerance. Metabolism refers to the entire range of all biochemical processes that occur within the body. (http://www.disabled-world.com/fitness/metabolism/). The basal metabolic rate is the energy used while the body is at rest to maintain vital functions. This phenomenon allows for stored energy to be utilized for the body’s overall function. Analysts usually look at BMR to determine the level of a person’s metabolism. The rate of metabolism can vary for everybody which may affect their level of productivity in the long-run.
The state of the art of my inquiry was based on using prior knowledge and secondary sources to formulate a hypothesis that has not yet been tested or observed. In the case of my inquiry, the prior knowledge includes studies within the fields of biology, psychology and genetics with involvement to the metabolism of humans. The purpose of the inquiry is to point out what is known about the topic of metabolism and to propose a new perspective on that trait when it comes to human productivity in society.
In my inquiry, I focused on the basal metabolic rate rather than the general metabolism because in order to compare one person to another, their state of rest has to be similar. When observing one person, that person can’t have an escalated heartbeat or fatigued compared to another person who’s at complete rest. This would lead to different metabolisms because someone who’s heart rate increases also temporarily increases their metabolism. This is a process of homeostasis that should already be accounted for, before participating in the observation. Each subject would have to be in equilibrium and the basal metabolic rate is where that equilibrium is observed. Without looking at the BMR it would make each subject very different and that factor would cause a lurking variable.
The issue that I will be raising in my inquiry is how metabolism in every individual affects their daily function and performances throughout their daily lives. With a large population, advancement in technology and an increased need in services, it is good to understand the productivity of individuals in society. The Psychology of Eating article explains how metabolism affects “equally and simultaneously, in mind, body and emotion (http://psychologyofeating.com/new-definition-metabolism/). What’s different from my inquiry on metabolism is that I associate metabolism with society. Productivity in society would usually focus on outside factors such as socio-economics, health issues, discrimination and etc. In my inquiry, I observe the individual, instead.
The secondhand sources that lead to my hypothesis includes a psychological study of “self-control,” a biological observation of rising metabolism and its effects on the body and genetic trends with metabolism and occupation with society. For each study, there seems to be a common trend of boosting body performance, allowing a person to be more efficient or productive at a task which can help them with job performance or work ethic.
The credibility for my inquiry includes scientific research that support my 3 points: Psychology and motivation, physiology and energy levels, offspring and productivity. These include credible research from organizations at universities and independent labs.
In the field of psychology, one study confirms the influence of metabolism over “self-control” (http://www.uoguelph.ca/~naseem/SONA/Molden_et_al_2012.pdf). This psychological science article explains people’s self-control as their “effortful regulation of their thoughts and actions.” That sort of self-control can be led to more productivity which is in strong support of the hypothesis. Without the thought of metabolism playing a crucial role in mental performance, the article’s would not have been made. In this proposal, we plan to follow up with this psychological field and research correlations between mental health and metabolism.
In the fields of biological physiology, we want to look at the physical effects of metabolism and what would support our hypothesis in productivity in society. As said earlier, basal metabolic rate is more commonly researched with diet and exercise, so one of the more common ways of finding a person’s BMR is through observation of the person’s height, age and weight. One flaw of this method is the assumption that each person performs the same daily task and functions so there is no consideration of weight loss versus natural weight. One thing to look at in the body is the effects of coffee on metabolism. Coffee is commonly associated with the morning breakfast drink. There is a reason why people drink coffee and that is because the caffeine gets them energized and motivated to do their daily tasks. One important thing to note which was observed in a study by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition is that coffee intake significantly boosts the metabolism (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7369170). Because of coffee intake, people are more energized so they are more productive, but the middle-man to look at is the significant metabolism increase. Without coffee, the body is at it’s normal metabolic rate meaning the entire body’s function and productivity would depend on its level.
In the fields of genetics, it’s been proposed that children’s income and likelihood of attending college is based on the occupation of their parents. In a journal on evolutionary biology, it was observed that birds share the same BMR as their offsprings and this could link to the fact that humans may have passed on the same BMR as their ancestors (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17714299) . This means their productivity in society may be similar to their parent’s productivity in society. This leads to the wondering of whether or not the genetics of metabolism influences their productivity.
With these secondary sources, I was able to formulate a hypothesis but there are also those lurking variables that could strongly alter the outcome or contradict those sources. Such factors include how to define productivity in society. If it’s based on income, factors may include gender or race discrimination which leads to debates with the Glass Ceiling, or regions where cost of living is different for many places, or the effectiveness of mental knowledge over physical efficiency in a job title. The other direction of the study can look at how individuals complete simple tasks and measure that productivity, but it’s hard to put it in a real world application when looking at a person in society.
My work will tie into the fields of diet and exercise because metabolism is more often associated with that. If my inquiry is true, exercise is important because a maintained metabolism will help the individual in the long-run. This work is relevant because the topic is not often observed and potentially plays a large role in people’s lives without them noticing.
Bibliography
Acheson, K. J., & Zahorska-Markiewics, B. (1980, May). Caffeine and Coffee. Their Influence on Metabolic Rate and Substrate Utilization, 989-991. Retrieved September 26, 2016, from http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/33/5/989.long
Griswold, A. (2014). Here's The Startling Degree To Which Your Parents Determine Your Success. Retrieved September 26, 2016, from http://www.businessinsider.com/parents-determine-child-success-income-inequality-2014-1
David, Marc. "A New Definition of Metabolism | Psychology of Eating." N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Oct. 2016.
Molden, D. C., Hui, C. M., Scholer, A. A., Meier, B. P., Noreen, E. E., D'agostino, P. R., & Martin, V. (2012). Motivational Versus Metabolic Effects of Carbohydrates on Self-Control. Psychological Science, 23(10), 1137-1144. doi:10.1177/0956797612439069
The state of the art of my inquiry was based on using prior knowledge and secondary sources to formulate a hypothesis that has not yet been tested or observed. In the case of my inquiry, the prior knowledge includes studies within the fields of biology, psychology and genetics with involvement to the metabolism of humans. The purpose of the inquiry is to point out what is known about the topic of metabolism and to propose a new perspective on that trait when it comes to human productivity in society.
In my inquiry, I focused on the basal metabolic rate rather than the general metabolism because in order to compare one person to another, their state of rest has to be similar. When observing one person, that person can’t have an escalated heartbeat or fatigued compared to another person who’s at complete rest. This would lead to different metabolisms because someone who’s heart rate increases also temporarily increases their metabolism. This is a process of homeostasis that should already be accounted for, before participating in the observation. Each subject would have to be in equilibrium and the basal metabolic rate is where that equilibrium is observed. Without looking at the BMR it would make each subject very different and that factor would cause a lurking variable.
The issue that I will be raising in my inquiry is how metabolism in every individual affects their daily function and performances throughout their daily lives. With a large population, advancement in technology and an increased need in services, it is good to understand the productivity of individuals in society. The Psychology of Eating article explains how metabolism affects “equally and simultaneously, in mind, body and emotion (http://psychologyofeating.com/new-definition-metabolism/). What’s different from my inquiry on metabolism is that I associate metabolism with society. Productivity in society would usually focus on outside factors such as socio-economics, health issues, discrimination and etc. In my inquiry, I observe the individual, instead.
The secondhand sources that lead to my hypothesis includes a psychological study of “self-control,” a biological observation of rising metabolism and its effects on the body and genetic trends with metabolism and occupation with society. For each study, there seems to be a common trend of boosting body performance, allowing a person to be more efficient or productive at a task which can help them with job performance or work ethic.
The credibility for my inquiry includes scientific research that support my 3 points: Psychology and motivation, physiology and energy levels, offspring and productivity. These include credible research from organizations at universities and independent labs.
In the field of psychology, one study confirms the influence of metabolism over “self-control” (http://www.uoguelph.ca/~naseem/SONA/Molden_et_al_2012.pdf). This psychological science article explains people’s self-control as their “effortful regulation of their thoughts and actions.” That sort of self-control can be led to more productivity which is in strong support of the hypothesis. Without the thought of metabolism playing a crucial role in mental performance, the article’s would not have been made. In this proposal, we plan to follow up with this psychological field and research correlations between mental health and metabolism.
In the fields of biological physiology, we want to look at the physical effects of metabolism and what would support our hypothesis in productivity in society. As said earlier, basal metabolic rate is more commonly researched with diet and exercise, so one of the more common ways of finding a person’s BMR is through observation of the person’s height, age and weight. One flaw of this method is the assumption that each person performs the same daily task and functions so there is no consideration of weight loss versus natural weight. One thing to look at in the body is the effects of coffee on metabolism. Coffee is commonly associated with the morning breakfast drink. There is a reason why people drink coffee and that is because the caffeine gets them energized and motivated to do their daily tasks. One important thing to note which was observed in a study by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition is that coffee intake significantly boosts the metabolism (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7369170). Because of coffee intake, people are more energized so they are more productive, but the middle-man to look at is the significant metabolism increase. Without coffee, the body is at it’s normal metabolic rate meaning the entire body’s function and productivity would depend on its level.
In the fields of genetics, it’s been proposed that children’s income and likelihood of attending college is based on the occupation of their parents. In a journal on evolutionary biology, it was observed that birds share the same BMR as their offsprings and this could link to the fact that humans may have passed on the same BMR as their ancestors (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17714299) . This means their productivity in society may be similar to their parent’s productivity in society. This leads to the wondering of whether or not the genetics of metabolism influences their productivity.
With these secondary sources, I was able to formulate a hypothesis but there are also those lurking variables that could strongly alter the outcome or contradict those sources. Such factors include how to define productivity in society. If it’s based on income, factors may include gender or race discrimination which leads to debates with the Glass Ceiling, or regions where cost of living is different for many places, or the effectiveness of mental knowledge over physical efficiency in a job title. The other direction of the study can look at how individuals complete simple tasks and measure that productivity, but it’s hard to put it in a real world application when looking at a person in society.
My work will tie into the fields of diet and exercise because metabolism is more often associated with that. If my inquiry is true, exercise is important because a maintained metabolism will help the individual in the long-run. This work is relevant because the topic is not often observed and potentially plays a large role in people’s lives without them noticing.
Bibliography
Acheson, K. J., & Zahorska-Markiewics, B. (1980, May). Caffeine and Coffee. Their Influence on Metabolic Rate and Substrate Utilization, 989-991. Retrieved September 26, 2016, from http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/33/5/989.long
Griswold, A. (2014). Here's The Startling Degree To Which Your Parents Determine Your Success. Retrieved September 26, 2016, from http://www.businessinsider.com/parents-determine-child-success-income-inequality-2014-1
David, Marc. "A New Definition of Metabolism | Psychology of Eating." N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Oct. 2016.
Molden, D. C., Hui, C. M., Scholer, A. A., Meier, B. P., Noreen, E. E., D'agostino, P. R., & Martin, V. (2012). Motivational Versus Metabolic Effects of Carbohydrates on Self-Control. Psychological Science, 23(10), 1137-1144. doi:10.1177/0956797612439069