Why We Gain Weight As We Age

Why is it that despite sticking to the same diet that kept us thin when we were younger, we now have a body that is fat and overweight? Yet seemingly we haven't changed much in our diet? What has gone wrong?

The answer lies in our metabolism. Metabolism is the way in which muscles use up calories or energy. Up to 80% of calories are burned by muscular activity. For the majority of people the most active use of muscles is between the age of 2 - 35 years old. This is when we are most interested in and motivated to perform various athletic endeavours like tennis, basketball, football, ice hockey etc. Post 35 and the muscular activity dwindles due to various factors, like lack of interest in sports, work commitments, stress, injury or medical conditons and raising a family.

Many people can attest to the fact that they have significant weight gain in their 30's although some may find themselves there a lot earlier. But why is it that we gain a lot of weight even though our diet may be quite healthy? This answer lies with our activity and our ability to burn calories. As we use our muscles less and less, we lose muscle capacity. At first it is just shrinkage of the muscle fiber. Later we start to lose muscle cells.

Coupled with this is the fact that when we place strain on our muscles through physical activity, we burn more calories because the muscle needs them for growth and also for energy. A double whammy of sorts. When we stop being so physical we do not require the calories for either muscle growth or energy, and therefore the body turns those calories to fat, for later use in case you require energy in the future. Losing your muscle cells is a result of your body recognizing the fact that you do not need your muscle power for strenuous activity and therefore discards the unnecessary muscle tissue. That is why we lose our muscle tone, and pack on the fat.

So it is pretty easy to see why we can put on a lot of weight as we age. Fortunately this trend can be reversed. The simple fact is we can reverse this by adding exercise, (especially weight bearing exercise), and following a calorie restricted diet plan to bring our weight in check and toning our bodies and getting back into shape.

Are you a victim of weight gain as you get older. Read some testimonials of people who have reversed this trend here!