The amount of body fat goes up steadily after age 30. Older people may have almost one third more fat compared to when they were younger. Fat tissue builds up toward the center of the body, including around the internal organs. However, the layer of fat under the skin gets smaller.
Typically from the age of 40, testosterone levels drop. As testosterone is responsible for regulating fat distribution, muscle strength and muscle mass, less testosterone can make it harder to burn calories. Both men and women produce less growth hormone from middle age, another hormone involved in regulating body fat.
Normal weight loss.
As you get older, you start to lose lean body mass like muscle and bone density. As early as age 30, our lean body mass starts to drop by a little over half a pound each year. You might not notice a change when you step on the scale, because the lean weight you lost is often replaced by fat.
Diet, Nutrition, and Exercise
Diet can be a very effective way for seniors to lose belly fat. You might not ever get to have six-pack abs, but you can significantly reduce your weight and improve your health with a good diet and nutrition plan.
As we get older, our bodies don't respond the same way to weight loss efforts, and science has some explanations to offer. As we age we naturally tend to gain weight, to the tune of 1 to 2 pounds (lb) per year, according to a review by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
Epidemiologists have observed that the average person typically puts on 1 to 2 pounds a year from early adulthood through middle age. The CDC's numbers show that much of the increase is concentrated in the 20s, for men and women.
The finding of the study suggests that people in middle age certainly gain weight and it is harder for them to lose it, but slow metabolism is not the real reason behind it. It was revealed that from the 20s to the 50s the energy expenditure is the most stable.
Muscle gets replaced with fat as we age
[2] This process, known as sarcopenia, accelerates around the age of 60. Muscle loss is often replaced with fat, which requires less energy to operate than muscle. And if we don't adjust for this decreased calorie need, then weight gain usually occurs.
As you age, your muscle mass decreases and your fat mass increases. Fat is less metabolically active than muscle—you don't need as many calories to maintain fat as you do to maintain muscle. Hormonal changes can also lead to weight gain.
Why We Gain Weight As We Age It starts sometime during our 50s and 60s: that belly bulge, those "extra" pounds we just can't seem to shed. Part of it is simply the biology of our bodies. Our muscles literally shrink as we age, and that means more calories turn into fat — and it's a lot harder to exercise it off.
Muscle is denser than fat, and as it is more compact within your body, as you gain muscle mass, you end up looking thinner, no matter your physical weight. So, if you've been doing a lot of strength training lately, it's likely this is the reason that you're looking fantastic but not dropping those numbers.
Hormones and Metabolism
Scientists have discovered that the metabolism remains stable for most of your adult life before dropping off in your 60s. This makes weight loss a larger feat. A slower metabolism means that your body can take significantly longer to digest and process the food you eat.
Burn more calories than you eat or drink. Eat more veggies, fruits, whole grains, fish, beans, and low-fat or fat-free dairy; and keep meat and poultry lean. Limit empty calories, like sugars and foods with little or no nutritional value. Avoid fad diets because the results don't last.
Why does metabolic rate slow down for women? Over time, studies have shown that metabolic rate (how fast we burn calories) starts to slow down by 2 to 3 percent each decade, beginning in our 20s. It becomes more noticeable between ages 40 and 60.
After age 60, you need 400-500 calories less. If you're moderately active, up to age 50, around 2,000 calories a day is good. After 50, you need to decrease to 1,800 calories. Do I have to work out twice as hard?
Your body shape changes naturally as you age. You cannot avoid some of these changes, but your lifestyle choices may slow or speed the process. The human body is made up of fat tissue, lean tissue (muscles and organs), bones, and water. After age 30, people tend to lose lean tissue.
Several factors can play a role in gaining and retaining excess weight. These include diet, lack of exercise, environmental factors, and genetics.
The typical fat-gain areas for many women are the hips, arms and thighs, giving them what is termed a 'pear-shape'. The other areas where many women accumulate fat are the chest and the abdomen. Such women have slim arms and legs, and are seen as 'apple-shaped'. They also might have a family history of diabetes.
This may be due to menstruation, heart or kidney failure, preeclampsia, or medicines you take. A rapid weight gain may be a sign of dangerous fluid retention. If you quit smoking, you might gain weight. Most people who quit smoking gain 4 to 10 pounds (2 to 4.5 kilograms) in the first 6 months after quitting.
To lose stomach overhang you have to burn fat cells in both the fat you can see directly under the skin and also the more dangerous fat that you can't see that surrounds your organs. Cardio such as swimming, aerobics, running or dancing will burn this excess fat store.