Muscle Mass/Calories Burned

[miko]

If you increase your muscle mass, will that increase how many calories your body burns?

If so, woudn't that make devices like heart rate monitors that count calories burned inaccurate since they don't know what your muscle mass is?

Just something that popped in my head while taking a whiz at the office.

[EVIDENT]

I believe most of those devices take in to account your height and weight...right? This might allow them to compinsate. But still, how would it know the diffrence between someone who's fat and built? I dunno.

But yes, the more muscle the more calories burned.

[Poloboy]

Yes, the more muscle mass you have, the higher your basal metabolic rate. Ignore the stupid monitors on the cardio machines. Your example is just one of many ways in which they are wrong.

[apeman]

good critical thinking
I always wonder how inaccurate the BMI charts are ....

[miko]

What about Polar HRM's? Aren't those supposed to be extremely accurate? Most of them now display calories burned.

[cliv]

One day while on the treadmill I asked the owner of my gym how accurate the 'Calories Burned' info was on the machine. He told me that is was just an estimate because it would have to know body fat percent, age, height, weight, and several other parameters to accurately report the calories burned.

[Yakk]

I'd trust a KCal meter that was based off the amount of oxygen you burned, and nothing else... =-)

(ok, I'd also trust one that measures the amount of heat you give off)