How Age Affects Weight and Wellness
BY SHERRI THOMAS, DO
“Don’t ever get old, Sherri. It’s for the birds!”
In her 60s and 70s, my Grandma often told me this. She was vibrant until her late 50s when she developed type 2 diabetes. About 10 years after her diagnosis, she started succumbing to many of the complications of the disease. After she passed away, her words stuck with me, and they lit a fire under me to stay as healthy as possible for as long as possible.
Now, as an Obesity Medicine physician, I spend my days talking to people about their health and weight. Grandma wasn’t wrong — getting older does come with its fair share of challenges. As we grow older, several changes can contribute to weight gain and other chronic diseases.
Sleep becomes less efficient. Unless we account for this with better sleep hygiene, we will start to see the metabolic effects of insufficient sleep.
People often become more sedentary due to busy schedules, desk jobs, and fewer active hobbies. With this comes a decrease in lean body mass, leading to metabolic changes that perpetuate weight gain.
We become less efficient at recycling protein in our body so our protein needs actually increase. Unfortunately, especially for many women, our protein intake decreases with age, leading to loss of muscle mass. So, getting enough protein is essential to prevent becoming frail.
Loss of estrogen in the perimenopausal period leads to a rapid loss of both bone density as well as muscle mass in women. Suddenly, we’re gaining extra pounds around the middle area – a direct result of hormonal changes that shift how fat is stored.
Recovery from injuries or illness takes longer, and if we don’t put in the effort to rebuild lost muscle mass, we might find ourselves never quite bouncing back to where we were before.
Aging also leads to an increased tendency to shift fat storage to visceral fat – the fat that settles around the organs and makes your waistline expand. This leads to metabolic changes that drive weight gain and disease, increasing your risk of diabetes and heart disease.
The great news is that it’s never too late to start. Just like investing in your financial future, investing in your health pays off. Are you better off starting at the youngest age possible? Yes. But that doesn’t mean there’s no point to starting later in life – it just means you’ll need to be more aggressive to see the results you’re looking for.
We look forward to meeting you at 5601 UnionHill Rd, Suite 1 and helping you with your weight management goals.
To schedule an appointment, call 531-249-5850 or visit us online at NeWeightWellness.com.