On average, women aged between 45 and 55 years gain around half a kilo per year. As you get older, you lose muscle mass, which slows your metabolism and causes weight gain. So if your diet doesn't change, you are likely to gain weight.
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.
As you move through your 20s on to your 30s, you may notice subtle changes in your waistline, and an increasing tendency to gain weight. We should however be mindful that metabolic rate does change as we get older because of the decline in our muscle mass.
Our metabolism slows down as we age.
“And until you are in your late 60s, early 70s, it is a little bit harder to lose weight. But you really can't always blame it on the body clock. Metabolic decline may cause you to gain 10 to 15 pounds, but not 40 or 50 pounds.
Many women also notice an increase in belly fat as they get older — even if they aren't gaining weight. This is likely due to a decreasing level of estrogen, which appears to influence where fat is distributed in the body.
A combination of things happens as we age. We tend to lose muscle mass, so our abdominal muscles aren't as tight as they once were, and the loss of elastin and collagen in our skin allows gravity to have its way so skin starts to sag. Both can cause the waistline to expand.
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.
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.
As people gain weight, excess fat tends to be centered around the abdomen, generally starting at the lower abdominal area and working up. This results in a large belly or gut protruding out from the rest of your body.
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.
Several factors can play a role in gaining and retaining excess weight. These include diet, lack of exercise, environmental factors, and genetics.
"There's a broad spectrum of metabolisms and hormonal balances among people, but generally, men store fat in the abdominal area, and women store fat in their hips and legs," Gonzalez-Lomas told Menshealth.com. It all comes down to two things you can't really control: genetics and hormones.
Well, the body's "metabolism speeds up" in the cold months. Pooja Malhotra said that the body burns more calories to maintain body temperature in winter. So, if you remain physically active and eat mindfully, "winter is the best time to lose weight."
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.
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.
As a result, losing belly fat often takes hard work, especially if you're in your 40s or older. That's because your hormones and your belly fat affect each other, and as your hormone levels change during middle age, fat around your midsection tends to accumulate faster than it does in other areas.
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.
“Our society attributes the weight gain and lack of exercise at mid-life (approximately 30–60 years) primarily to poor lifestyle choices and lack of will power, but this study shows that there is a genetic program driven by an overactive enzyme that promotes weight gain and loss of exercise capacity at mid-life,” Chung ...
The ratio of body fat to muscle increases, as muscle mass decreases. Due to the aging factor, weight is being added to our thighs and buttocks.
No, you're not just imagining it: Your hips really do get wider as you get older, according to a new study. Even though most people stop growing in height by the time they hit age 20, researchers have found evidence that the hip bones can keep growing even as people enter their 70s.
While most women in their teens and early 20s define themselves as a neat hourglass shape, women in their 30s and 40s consider themselves as full hourglass and those in their 50s and 60s are most likely to be apple. 'Your body shape changes as you age, partly as women put on weight in different places,' said Jedinak.