Metabolism peaks at age one and tanks after 60, study finds
News from the BBC
Middle-aged spread cannot be blamed on a waning metabolism, according to an unprecedented analysis of the body's energy use.
The study, of 6,400 people, from eight days old up to age 95, in 29 countries, suggests the metabolism remains "rock solid" throughout mid-life.
It peaks at the age of one, is stable from 20 to 60 and then inexorably declines.
Researchers said the findings gave surprising new insights about the body.