I was thinking about my birthday coming up soon and started thinking about members of my family who gained weight as I did. It seemed that sometime around the age of 35, weight gain began to be a challenge. However, I also noticed that relatives in their 60s appeared to have thinner arms and legs. Well, I began looking at the way in which age and weight are related, focusing specifically on me.
I discovered some interesting facts about weight and aging that I wanted to share. For instance, women generally gain weight from age 25 to 54. Generally, only after age 55 does a woman’s weight usually go down as a natural part of getting older. The average weight gain for women during this time is about 16 pounds. On the other hand, men usually gain an average of 10 pounds during this same time in their lives before naturally starting to lose weight at age 55.
The opposite side of this is that the body’s metabolism slows down with age so the body naturally gains weight if there is no increase in exercise or decrease in calories being consumed. Therefore, I was a little confused about whether I would actually continue to gain weight after I was 55 and if so, where would my weight gain be.
The things we can do to keep our weight under control during that 25 to 55 time of our lives includes a minimum of 30 minutes exercise or activity daily, reducing the intake of fats, and learning to eat a healthy, well balanced diet without high calorie consumption. However, as we reach age 55, you could likely be within the normal group of people who begin to thin out. Just remember that even at this age, exercise and a healthy diet are just as critical to the body’s ability to function and overall health.