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.
Tissue loss reduces the amount of water in your body. 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.
On average, adults gained 17.6 pounds during their 20s and 30s and 14.3 pounds during their 30s and 40s. They also found that, on average, women gained more weight than men, putting on an average of 12 pounds compared with six pounds for men.
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.
Choose a diet high in protein and fiber and low in saturated and trans fats. “Protein is the building block for muscle, so getting enough protein is especially important,” she said. Add resistance exercise along with your cardio activities, since resistance exercise helps increase and maintain your muscle mass.
As we get older, we gain an average of one to two pounds per year. [1] This may not seem like a lot, but over time, it can accumulate and lead to weight gain or even obesity. Here are four major reasons why age plays a role in weight management and what to do about it: Muscle loss and decreased lipid turnover.
Men tend to gain weight until age 55, and then slowly start to lose it in the years that follow. This could be because men produce less testosterone after this age. Women, on the other hand, usually stop gaining weight once they hit age 65.
Factors like age, decreased activity levels, loss of muscle mass, a slower metabolism, and even your menstrual cycle can all cause you to gain a few extra pounds. So unexplained weight gain isn't always something to worry about, especially if you can pinpoint the reason after thinking about it for a few minutes.
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.
Several factors can play a role in gaining and retaining excess weight. These include diet, lack of exercise, environmental factors, and genetics.
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.
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.
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.
Causes include poor diet, lack of exercise, and short or low-quality sleep. A healthy diet and active lifestyle can help people lose excess belly fat and lower the risk of problems associated with it.
A team of UCLA researchers reviewed 31 long term studies on the effectiveness of dieting and concluded that dieting is a consistent predictor of weight gain—up to two-thirds of the people regained more weight than they lost (Mann 2007).
That's one reason women and men tend to have less muscle mass as they age. When you have less muscle tissue, it's a lot harder to slim down those hard-to-tone areas like your upper arms. That means no matter how many chair lifts and pushups you do, you're still not going to get the slim, sleek upper arms you want.
Why is it harder to lose weight as you get older? As you get older you lose muscle. This has a bigger impact than simply losing muscle definition and tone. Muscle actually burns more calories than fat, so having less muscle means it's harder to use the calories you're eating.
Unpasteurized milk and dairy products, fried foods, high-sodium foods, and certain raw produce are among the foods to avoid or limit at any age. If a limited income makes it difficult for an older adult to afford healthy foods, there are several food assistance programs available to help.
Instead, the weight gain is usually related to aging, as well as lifestyle and genetic factors. For example, muscle mass typically diminishes with age, while fat increases. Losing muscle mass slows the rate at which your body uses calories (metabolism). This can make it more challenging to maintain a healthy weight.