eli5: why does having more muscle mass increases bmr (Basal metabolic rate)
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To build on other replies, the reason muscle in particular increases BMR is because it takes more energy to maintain than fat. To simplify, complicated things need more maintenance to stay functional than simple things do. Like how an iPhone breaks in a couple years, but your home phone likely lasted for a decade or more. Or why a tall tower of blocks takes more energy to build than a pile of blocks. Muscle cells need to be able to contract in response to nerve signals, moving part or all of your body in the process. Fat cells mostly need to fill themselves full of fat and then sit there until your blood sugar drops and they need to release some of it. So muscle takes more energy to keep repaired, because it’s more complicated and doing more stuff than fat.
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