Overview

Weight management has been studied for decades; there have been major advances in understanding it over the past 15 years. With all the knowledge we have gained about how our bodies handle calories and fat storage, there are many elements that still elude us. One aspect of weight management that still isn't fully explained is why we gain weight during our older years, especially those years following menopause in women.

There are many factors to examine when describing how our body stores fat and how one loses weight. However, there are certain factors that can easily be mentioned as the typical culprits in the equation. When it comes to weight gain at older ages, the causes are usually pretty typical. They include the slowing down of our metabolism, the decrease in the number of cells in our bodies, and the reduction of our muscle mass due to the lack of physical activity.

It is pretty clear how metabolism affects your weight. As we get older, our metabolism slows down. This happens for a multitude of reasons; first, due to a reduced amount of cells in the body. By losing body mass, our bodies require fewer calories to provide energy to the cells. Since the number for our recommended daily intake is determined by how many calories our bodies need to support its daily functions, this, in turn, leads to lower requirements in terms of eating calories. Our calorie requirements, when younger, tend to be approximately 2000-2500 per day for men, 1800-2000 for women. This can drop by as much as 4 per cent every ten years! So for men, requirements can drop to 1800 per day by the golden age years.

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Another major issue with weight gain later in life is reduced activity levels. It is pretty easy to believe that we slow down later on; as we age, activities seem to come fewer and further between. This affects the previous aspect, as less activity means lower metabolism. But it also means your muscles get less activity, which decreases your muscle mass over time. By doing so, you lower your calorie requirements. Less activity means you burn less calories through your days, which deprives you of valuable calorie-burning in addition to your basal metabolic rate.

A major problem that has plagued this past generation of seniors is the lack of information available to them when they were younger, which lead to poor knowledge of proper eating habits. This poor nutrition leads to excess calorie consumption and an unbalanced diet, which leads to poorer health at a time when our bodies need it most. All the vitamins and minerals that are found in a properly balanced diet help in fighting illness, maintaining healthy skin and bones, and all our functions being performed by our bodies dutifully.

When we get older, we have trouble digesting certain foods, and tend to stick to less variety and instead lean towards the same types of foods. This can create deficiencies in certain vitamins and minerals, and even nutrients, if ignored. Another mass misconception is that taking a multivitamin can help prevent such deficiencies. The truth is that multivitamins are beneficial, but are not a replacement for eating a balanced diet. The amounts of each vitamin included can vary, and not all of them are guaranteed to be absorbed into your system. Whereas those vitamins and nutrients found in food are usually surrounded by many other beneficial substances that add to your health.

Ways to combat the weight gain in later years is to stay active. By exercising regularly, you will give your body a boost in metabolism, since when you are not exercising your body will still burn fewer calories than usual. Also, the extra calories burnt when exercising will use up more of those calories you consume in your meals. At a bare minimum, you should try walking for 30 minutes per day, and try jogging, speed walking or swimming 3 times a week. These activities will also increase your cardiovascular endurance and fight away heart diseases such as strokes.

You can also lift weights, to help combat the loss of muscle mass later in life. This can ensure that you continue burning approximately the same number of calories as your body starts to slow down. Lifting weights will also burn extra calories, and will keep your body in shape and with lean muscle mass.

You should also inform yourself of eating properly, and be realistic about your weight loss goals. Don't expect to look like you're in your 20's or 30's. You won't. But you can still look great by taking these steps and making sure you don't let yourself become a victim of the problems of old age.

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