Rightways: Boosting your metabolic rate

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Monday, September 29, 2025

Boosting your metabolic rate

Engineering marvel: The Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge, the world’s highest, is seen in China’s southwest Guizhou province. — AFP

The world’s highest bridge has opened to traffic in the country, state media said, capping an engineering feat three years in the making and snatching the record from another bridge in the same province.

The Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge towers 625m above a river and vast gorge in the country’s rugged southern province of Guizhou, also home to the 565m Beipanjiang Bridge that is now the world’s second highest.

Live drone footage broadcast by state media yesterday showed vehicles traversing the immense structure, its blue support towers partially engulfed in clouds.

Crowds of onlookers including project engineers and local officials gathered on the bridge for a ceremony to mark the occasion, with several expressing their pride and excitement in live interviews to state media.

“The opening of the Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge reduces travel time between the two sides from two hours to two minutes,” Zhang Yin, head of the provincial transport department, said at a press conference on Wednesday.

Its opening makes “enormous improvements to regional transportation conditions and (injects) new impetus into regional economic and social development,” she said.

China has invested heavily in major infrastructure projects in recent decades, a period of rapid economic growth and urbanisation in the country.

The hilly province of Guizhou in particular is crisscrossed by thousands of bridges – which now include the world’s two highest.

State news agency Xinhua said on Wednesday that nearly half of the world’s 100 highest bridges are located in the province.

The Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge took more than three years to complete, Xinhua reported.

Its 1,420m main span makes it the “world’s largest-span bridge built in a mountainous area”, it added. — AFP

This bridge is a vivid projection of China’s new development philosophy

An aerial drone photo taken on Sept. 28, 2025 shows the Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge in southwest China's Guizhou Province. Photo: Xinhua

On Sunday morning, the Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge - the "world's tallest bridge" and the control engineering project of the Liuzhi-Anlong Expressway in Southwest China's Guizhou Province - was officially completed and opened to traffic. This engineering marvel, which ranks "world No.1 both vertically and horizontally," not only sets a new record in bridge construction with a vertical height of 625 meters and reduces a two-hour mountain journey to a two-minute drive, but also embodies the concept of adapting to local conditions and pursuing integrated development, offering the world a new dimension of China's high-quality development. The Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge is far more than a simple engineering breakthrough; it is a three-dimensional projection of China's new development philosophy featuring innovative, coordinated, green, open and shared development deep in the mountains and valleys, and a concrete manifestation of the transformation from "Made in China" to "Created in China."

Innovation is a pragmatic breakthrough driven by problems. Faced with complex terrain, geological and climatic conditions, the builders adopted an innovative "asymmetrical anchorage design," wind-resistance measures tested through physical wind tunnel experiments, and a fourth-generation "intelligent cable hoisting system." These efforts enabled new breakthroughs in complex bridge engineering, including millimeter-level precision docking of key steel structure joints at an altitude of more than 600 meters. Such innovation was not pursued for its own sake, but arose from the tireless efforts of China's engineers to address the pressing challenge of "turning natural barriers into thoroughfares." It is a concrete example of the principle of the "problem-oriented approach" in China's development philosophy and is a direct expression of the country's new quality productive forces. In this process, the spirit of perseverance embodied by Chinese engineers, akin to the story of "the foolish old man who moves mountains," was fully demonstrated. Through their actions, Chinese engineers have proved that "serving the people" is by no means an empty slogan.

Coordination is the key engine that activates regional development. Coordinated development is not about mere balance, but about achieving breakthroughs at key nodes to drive overall progress. The opening of the bridge has shortened the journey between Anshun and Liupanshui from two hours to just two minutes. What appears to be a simple shift in time and space is, in fact, a restructuring of the region's economic system.

While strengthening links between the region and its neighbors, the bridge also creatively integrates infrastructure with cultural tourism through a "bridge plus tourism" model. Projects such as a cloud-top café and a 625-meter bungee jump are incorporated into the bridge complex, linking with surrounding geological landscapes, ethnic minority traditions and red revolutionary sites to generate scale effects and open up new growth points. In due course, under the driving force of the bridge and the comprehensive economic system built around it, a new pattern of regional economic development is bound to emerge.

Green has become an integral element of development that is already embedded in our memory. In the ecologically sensitive karst landscape area, the builders creatively combined the canyon's rock formations with the bridge design, integrating the bridge structure with the canyon landscape. The entire construction process utilized "zero excavation" technology to minimize damage to the native vegetation. This steadfast commitment to the principle that "the ecological red line cannot be crossed" is a vivid manifestation of China's philosophy that "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets." The construction of the Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge demonstrates that high-quality development can achieve a win-win situation for both economic and ecological benefits. This process of Chinese modernization reshapes the relationship between human activities and the ecological environment and represents an important contribution of China's green development philosophy to the world.

Openness and sharing represent the mutual learning of civilizations, allowing us to share and admire the beauty of each civilization. The bridge significantly enhances the efficiency of transit in southwest Guizhou, directly benefiting approximately 500,000 residents along the route. It connects essential resources for education, healthcare, and employment, embodying the principle of "shared development outcomes for all." China uses modern engineering technology to open up the "veins" of economic development and pave a "pathway to happiness" for the people. In this process, it also refines itself and engages with the world. The bridge's opening not only injects new momentum into domestic regional development but also provides a replicable and scalable model for the globe, contributing a "Chinese solution." This openness and sharing are not merely a simple transfer of technology; they encompass comprehensive collaboration and integration of design concepts, construction standards, and management experiences, reflecting a global vision of "building a community with a shared future for humanity" within the framework of shared development. As reported previously by the European website Modern Diplomacy: When the bridge is inaugurated, "it will not just be Guizhou or China celebrating, but the world witnessing a new milestone in civil engineering and technological innovation."

From the Zhaozhou Bridge and Luoyang Bridge, which embody the wisdom of ancient Chinese engineering, to the Beipanjiang Bridge, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, and the Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge, the history of Chinese bridges is a continuous story of breaking through limits and transcending boundaries. This bridge, which spans the canyon, not only establishes a "development corridor" between Anshun and Liupanshui but also conveys to the world in the most direct way that China's development has never been about surpassing others. Instead, it is about achieving a better version of itself, while providing more choices, better paths, and more beautiful visions for the common development of humanity in the process. - Global Times editorial

Sunday, March 2, 2025

Boosting your metabolic rate

INCREASING metabolic rates has been a topic of interest to many, especially among weight-conscious individuals. Understanding metabolism is crucial for obtaining an optimal metabolic rate. Metabolism is the conversion of energy intake i.e., food consumption into products, including energy and waste. Increasing the rate of conversion is believed to burn off body fat. But is this true?

MSU Medical Centre (MSUMC) health screening and wellness specialist Dr Faridah Mohd Zin explains, “Our body consumes energy in four pathways: basal metabolism, food thermogenesis, nonexercise activities thermogenesis (NEAT) and exercise activities thermogenesis (EAT). More than half of the body’s metabolism is consumed as basal metabolism, for the function of vital organs such as the heart, kidneys, brain and many others (about 60%).

The thermic effect of food has the lowest contribution which involves the energy needed to change the food we eat into substances that are “edible” by our cells i.e., glucose (about 10%). Increasing the metabolic rate would mean increasing the energy-burning rate of the body, which theoretically could be increased by optimising the NEAT, EAT, thermic effect of food and body metabolism.

NEAT is simply the energy consumed when performing daily activity. Optimising daily activities such as cooking while standing or pacing around the room while on the phone has been shown to increase metabolic rates. Since these activities will naturally be done every day, enhancing the energy burned through this pathway could be regarded as an opportunity that should not be missed. Moreover, NEAT is found to be associated with improvement in overall health and helps with body fat reduction.

EAT is the body’s way of consuming energy through structured exercise which primarily includes cardiovascular, strengthening, flexibility and balance. Furthermore, each type should have specific criteria in terms of frequency, intensity, time and types (FITT approach) for different objectives of exercise. For example, in maintaining fitness, a total of 150 minutes of cardiovascular exercise per week is recommended, while a longer duration is needed for body weight reduction.

Food thermogenesis contributes the least to body energy consumption. High lean protein and whole foods burn more energy during metabolism compared to other types of food. Although eating high lean protein and whole foods induces higher thermogenesis, hence a higher metabolic rate, the contribution made in the increment of daily body metabolism is still the lowest.

The major factors contributing to the basal metabolic rate include sex, height, age, ethnicity, body composition and genetic factors. While the body compositions are mainly composed of the vital organs, bones, body fat and muscle mass, the latter two are the only factors that can be intentionally changed.

Total body fat is composed of essential and storage fat. Storage fat is mainly deposited under the skin as subcutaneous fat, or around the body organs as visceral fat. The latter has been shown to have a strong correlation with the increment in cardiovascular diseases, including heart attack and stroke. Energy consumption of more than required would be stored in the body as fat. Hence, a negative balance between energy intake and consumption is essential to force our body to use up the storage fat as a source of energy, leading to weight reduction. Since storage fat originates from food intake, adjusting one’s diet is essential for achieving the desired body fat level.

Increasing muscle mass would increase the ability of the body to use up energy. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends regular resistance training exercises as the key to building and keeping muscle. Men and women should participate in muscle-strengthening activities that work the major muscle groups (legs, hips, back, chest, abdomen, shoulders and arms) at least two times each week. Examples of musclestrengthening activities include lifting weights, using resistance bands, doing push-ups and some types of yoga. Even everyday activities such as gardening, playing with your kids and carrying groceries can strengthen muscles.

Although resistance training is an important part of a complete exercise regimen, consuming the appropriate amount and type of protein to maintain and build muscles is just as important. On top of that, a healthy balanced diet is crucial to ensure adequate macro- and micro-nutrients needed for a healthy body.

Body metabolism occurs continuously, allowing ongoing opportunities to maximise its effect. Body fat is a way for our body to store unused energy. Hence, optimising the body’s metabolism while eating lower than our body’s daily energy requirement will force our body to burn off energy from the stored body fat. Thus, consistency in maintaining this negative balance in energy will gradually shave off unwanted storage fat.

Boosting your metabolic rate - The Star

Thursday, September 29, 2022

Boosting your metabolic rate

Slow Metabolism? 8 Proven Ways to Boost It & Lose Weight | Joanna Soh

INCREASING metabolic rates have been an interest of many, especially among weightconscious individuals. Understanding metabolism is crucial in guiding us to obtain an optimal metabolic rate.

‘Metabole’ is a Greek word for ‘change’. In the context of the human body, metabolism means the conversion of energy intake – consumed food into energy and waste products. Increasing the rate of conversion is believed to increase the rate of burning off body fat. Is this true?

Consultant family medicine and lifestyle medicine physician at MSU Medical Centre Dr Faridah Mohd Zin explains, “Our body consumes energy through four pathways: basal metabolism, food thermogenesis, nonexercise activities thermogenesis (NEAT) and exercise activities thermogenesis (EAT).

“More than half of the body’s metabolism is consumed as basal metabolism i.e., for the function of vital organs such as the heart, kidneys, brain and many others (about 60%). The thermic effect of food has the lowest contribution which involves the energy needed to change the food we eat into substances that are “edible” by our cells such as glucose (about 10%). Increasing the metabolic rate would mean increasing the energy-burning rate of the body, which theoretically could be increased by optimising the NEAT, EAT, thermic effect of food and the body’s metabolism.”

NEAT relates to the energy consumed while performing daily activities. Optimising daily activities such as cooking while standing or pacing around the room while on the phone have shown to increase metabolic rate. Since these activities are done every day, enhancing the energy burnt through this pathway could be regarded as an opportunity that should not be missed. Moreover, NEAT is found to be associated with an improvement in overall health and helps in body fat reduction.

EAT relates to the body’s energy consumption through structured exercise, which primarily includes cardiovascular, strengthening, flexibility and balance exercises. Furthermore, each type should have specific criteria in terms of frequency, intensity, time and types to achieve the different exercise objectives. For example, in maintaining fitness, a total of 150 minutes of cardiovascular exercise per week is recommended, while a longer duration is needed for body weight reduction.

Food thermogenesis contributes the least to body energy consumption. High lean protein and whole foods use more energy compared to other types of food and processed foods. Although consuming them would induce a higher metabolic rate, the contribution made to the increase of daily body metabolism is the lowest.

The major factors contributing to basal metabolic rate include sex, height, age, ethnicity, body composition and genetic factors. Body fat and muscle mass are the only factors that can be intentionally changed.

Total body fat is composed of essential and storage fat. Storage fat is mainly deposited under the skin as subcutaneous fat, or around body organs as visceral fat. The latter has been shown to have a strong correlation with cardiovascular diseases including heart attack and stroke. Energy consumption of more than required would be stored in the body as fat. Hence, a negative balance between energy intake and consumption is essential to force our body to use stored fat as a source of energy, leading to weight reduction. As the origin of stored fat comes from food, an alteration of an individual’s food intake is crucial to achieve the desired level of body fat.

Increasing muscle mass would increase the body’s ability to use up energy. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends regular resistance training exercises to build and maintain muscle. Men and women should participate in muscle strengthening activities that work the major muscle groups (legs, hips, back, chest, abdomen, shoulders and arms) at least two times each week. Examples of muscle strengthening activities include lifting weights, using resistance bands, and doing push-ups and some forms of yoga. Even daily activities such as gardening, playing with your kids and carrying the groceries can strengthen muscles.

Although resistance training is an important part of a complete exercise regimen, consuming the appropriate amount and type of protein to maintain and build muscle is just as important. On top of that, a healthy balanced diet is crucial to ensure adequate macro and micronutrients are supplied for a healthy body.

Body metabolism happens continuously, allowing ongoing opportunities to maximise its effect. Body fat is a way our body stores unused energy. Hence, optimising the body’s metabolism while eating less than our body’s daily energy requirement will certainly force our body to burn energy from the stored body fat. Thus, consistency in creating this negative balance in energy will gradually get rid of unwanted body composition, namely the stored fat.

By Dr Faridah Mohd Zin.