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Doctor Primack adds that not everyone will become overweight with age because weight is strongly influenced by your genetic makeup, your level of physical activity, and your food choices. “We sometimes say that genetics is the trigger and lifestyle is the trigger,” he says. However, everyone will find it more difficult to maintain or lose weight as they get older, especially in their 40s. Well, here are 5 reasons why weight tends to increase easily with age, especially entering the age of 40:
Also Read: How to Calculate Ideal Body Weight, Here’s How!
1. Muscles decrease with age
The amount of lean muscle we have naturally begins to decline by 3 to 8 percent per decade after the age of 30. a process called sarcopenia, the researchers report in a paper published in the journal Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition & Metabolic Care. You may also lose muscle if you are less active due to age-related health conditions, such as arthritis.
Why is muscle loss so important? Because lean muscle uses more calories than fat. Strength training with weights can be done to maintain and build muscle. Your body will need fewer calories each day. It makes weight gain possible if you continue to consume the same number of calories as you did when you were younger.
“Most people won’t adjust for calories,” explains Marcio Griebeler, MD, an endocrinologist at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. They continue to eat the same amount, but because they have less muscle mass to burn calories and less activity, they end up gaining weight over time.
2. Normal Hormone Changes
Both men and women experience changes in hormone levels with age. In women, menopause — which occurs most often between the ages of 45 and 55 — causes a significant drop in estrogen which encourages fat to accumulate around the abdomen, explains Dr. Griebler. This shift in fat storage can make weight gain more noticeable and increase the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, high cholesterol, and type 2 diabetes.
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