Summary
- Sakamoto is outrageously active due to being hunted by assassins, but his metabolism seems to match his extreme lifestyle.
- His caloric intake is extraordinary, consuming over 12,000 calories in one sitting, leading to drastic body transformations.
- Sakamoto’s metabolic rate may be around 10,309 kcal/day based on his physique and level of activity, according to a fun fictional calculation.
Sakomoto Days focuses on a retired assassin who runs a convenience store with his wife, daughter, and reformed mentees. After leaving the killing profession, Taro Sakamoto has gone soft. His body transformed from a model-like svelte figure to a chubby dad bod. Still, Taro’s obesity does not stop him from kicking ass as Sakamoto Days’s tough-as-nails protagonist.
In episode 4, “Hard Boiled,” Taro performs a miraculous feat during an intense battle with a former classmate from Assassin School. His body sheds over a hundred pounds in seconds, revealing a form similar to his assassin physique. The next day, he gains all the weight back by eating an immense amount of calories. What kind of metabolism does this dude have?
Sakamoto Has Peculiar Health Habits
Taro Sakamoto is a refreshing take on a fat character because he is incredibly athletic. However, he also eats a massive amount of food, making him rather peculiar. One would guess that his assassin days required him to move a lot and consume enough calories to match his activity. In retirement, his physical activity is average, but his eating habits are the same – resulting in a caloric surplus.
Sakamoto is Very Physically Active
Recent circumstances significantly increased Sakamoto’s physical activity to assassin level. Taro has a billion yen mark on his head, making him the target of many money-hungry assassins. He now must fend off enemies daily to protect Aoi, Hana, Lu, and Shin. Furthermore, Taro began a training regimen to prepare him for the upcoming face-off with Slur, the JAA serial killer.
Sakamoto Eats A Lot of Calorie-Dense Food
Sakamoto’s caloric intake is astounding. For instance, in season 1, episode 5, “Source of Strength,” Taro, Shin, and Lu visit an intel source that doubles as a movie theater. While watching a film detailing the history of the Dondenkai agency, Taro eats through eight jumbo popcorn buckets.
The average large popcorn bucket sold at movie theaters is approximately 1,000 calories. Once you add butter to the popcorn (which Sakamoto likely has), that number soars to 1,500 per bucket. When you multiply that amount by eight, that makes 12,000 calories! Plus, he ate an order of french fries on the way to the movie theatre. One pound of fat is equivalent to 3,500 calories, which means Sakamoto gained about three pounds in one sitting.
According to Harvard Health Publishing, metabolism plays a minor role in weight loss. Furthermore, one’s genes primarily determine their metabolism. So, someone can’t accurately guess another person’s metabolic rate based on their physique. However, some small factors may suggest how Sakamoto’s lifestyle affects his metabolism.
A study by the Department of Physical Education at UC Davis suggests that metabolic rate is proportionate to physical activity. One’s metabolism will get faster with more physical activity. However, a sedentary lifestyle decreases the metabolic rate, especially when combined with a caloric deficit that reduces the thermic effect of food (our metabolism increases when we eat).
When you consider that Sakamoto moves as much as he eats, it makes sense that his metabolism is high. (Remember that Sakamoto Days is a shonen anime, not an accurate life reflection.) His metabolism might have slowed down during retirement, but his new training will likely increase his metabolism’s speed.
Foods that take longer to digest, like proteins, have a higher thermogenic effect than carbohydrates. Taro’s diet, which consists mainly of Cup Noodles, may work against his metabolic rate.
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If you’ve read this far, you realize that metabolic rate is insignificant to someone’s weight, or at least the ability to lose it. Taro’s drastic body transformations are a unique ability relegated to someone of his superhuman talents. (Also, again, this show is fiction.) But we can still attempt to calculate his metabolic rate for fun.
How to Calculate Metabolic Rate
There are two types of metabolic rates to consider. BMR (Base Metabolic Rate) is the energy required for one’s body to perform all necessary functions while at rest. RMR (Resting Metabolic Rate) is similar to BMR but takes light activity into account. One can calculate BMR using the Benedict-Harris equation that Francis Gano Benedict and James Arthur Harris created in 1919. The BMR gets multiplied by activity level to get one’s RMR.
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Benedict-Harris Equation for AMAB (Assigned Male at Birth) Individuals:
- BMR = 88.362 + (13.397 x weight in kg) + (4.799 x height in cm) – (5.677 x age in years)
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RMR Adjustment:
- Sedentary: Multiply by 1.2
- Lightly active: Multiply by 1.375
- Moderately active: Multiply by 1.55
- Very active: Multiply by 1.725
- Extremely active: Multiply by 1.9
Taro Sakamoto’s Metabolic Rate
Let’s plug Sakamoto’s stats into the Benedict-Harris equation to determine his BMR: According to the Sakamoto Days wiki, Taro is 27 years old, 188 cm (6 ft 2 in) tall, and weighs 140 kg (309 lbs).
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BMR = 88.362 + (13.397 x 140) + (4.799 x 188) – (5.677 x 27)
- BMR = 88.362 + (1,875.58) + (902.212) – (153.279)
- BMR = 2,713 kcal
So, Taro Sakamoto burns 2,713 calories daily simply for his body to function. Now, we must determine Sakamoto’s activity level. When you consider that Sakamoto lost over 100 lbs (35,000 kcal) in about a half hour, his RMR adjustment must be higher than ×1.9. If ×1.9 is the activity level of a professional athlete, let’s double it to ×3.8.
Wow! Taro Sakamoto allegedly has a Resting Metabolic Rate of 10,309 kcal per day. (Remember, we’re not scientists, and this is anime.)