Weight Gain In Old Age – Why Do Men Put On Weight In Their 60’s

Excess pounds are the ultimate result of becoming overweight or suffering from the symptoms of obesity. As people start ageing gradually, they become more prone to notice negative health conditions.

Moreover, men become victims of weight gain after 60, so it is better to find out the reasons and take actions against the issue accordingly.

Table of Contents

• Body’s Function of Burning Energy
• Ageing Muscles
• Whole Body Fat and Weight Gain After 60 Issue
• Lack of Activities in Life
• DNA can Make You Weight Gain after 60
• Stress and Frustrations in Life
• Environmental Factors and Weight Gain after 60
• Preventing Weight Gain after 60 like a Pro

Putting on weight is now a universal health problem, and it is proven to affect every age group.

However, men suffering from abdominal weight gain after 60 is becoming prevalent with passing years because older adults fall into the trap of leisure lifestyle.

And depression, heart diseases, cancer, type 2 diabetes and strokes are closely associated with overweight during old age.

Body’s Function of Burning Energy

The metabolic rate is the indication of how much energy is your body burning at the time of taking rest. There are many factors including genes, sex and height that may contribute to gaining weight.

Male bodies get into three different stages of burning calories, and the stages are largely dependent on how active the body remains.

The causes of weight gain in females are similar to the males who burn a minimal (around 10% of the entire calories burnt that day) amount of calories while eating.

This is caused by the thermic effect and it is one of the stages of burning calories. In the meantime, limiting weight gain after 60, a man can increase the heat by consuming stimulant beverages or coffee and including a large amount of protein in the diet plan.

However, a study conducted by National Institutes of Health indicates that green tea, hot chilli peppers or caffeine cannot exactly lower your body. Some of them have the ability to improve metabolism and seeing a huge difference in the weight is time-consuming.

Ageing Muscles

As men start to age, they are susceptible to lose muscle cells.

During the younger period of their lives, the damaged muscle cells would get quickly repaired.

There are many theories which have established the link between weight gain after 60 and loss of muscle cells.

One of the reasons for weight gain during old age is that stem cells do not function or respond well when the muscle cells are on the verge of being damaged.

When the muscle cells are not repaired within time, they gradually die.

The low level of hormones like testosterone level is held accountable for losing muscle fibre and the also incapability of replenishing the tissue by its own potential.

The muscles are the powerhouses of the human body and a large part of the calories is burnt in the muscle cells.

In the course of metabolism, the powerhouse cells or the muscle cells contribute productively to burning energy. Now with the course of time, the muscle cells remain in the same place being worn out.

Energy takes the form of calories after entering your body and if the caloric intake does not change during old age, the unburned calories result in body fat.

Whole Body Fat and Weight Gain After 60 Issue

The default storage place for men is the belly and it acts like a trunk of a car storing all the unnecessary body fat.

If there is no scope for exercise and only an idle body, the belly runs out of places to store fat.

Lack of storage point in a man’s potbelly causes fat storage in various parts of the body.

Gradually, muscles, pancreas and liver become the new fat houses in your body.

In this way, the risk of developing critical and chronic medical conditions including high cholesterol, heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure goes high.

Lack of Activities in Life

With the growing age, people fall into the pit of sedentary life and they tend to eat more and burn less amount of energy. As old age causes a lot of health condition, it is possible that physical disability and the diseases cause weight gain after 60.

It is already established that an inactive lifestyle is a reason for the low level of muscle mass and less response in effective energy burning.

The loss of muscle leads to a lack of ability to choose strength training and it becomes one of the causes of sudden weight gain. Thereafter, every food particle is not metabolised as women and men start ageing with each passing year.

If a man is able to visit the gym for strength training involving the use of resistance band or weight lifting and aerobic exercise such as walking, he can limit weight gain after 60.

Women are more likely to store more fat in their body than men; however, after retirement, life gets hard for men. People are officially dismissed from work when they reach the age mark of 58 or 60.

After being physically active in the workplace for 20-25 years, inactiveness lifestyle is a serious issue for weight gain after 60.

DNA can Make You Weight Gain after 60

You may start ageing and growing old but you cannot escape the role of DNA in your body. It is found that the cause or risk factor of overweight or obesity is deep rooted in the human body through the DNA.

Few scientific results refer to the theory that obesity might be connected with the environmental factors and metabolic dysfunctions.

A research study has published the relation between fat gene, diabetes and obesity. A group of mice had two copies of a fat gene or IRX3 gene and then they were given a high-fat diet.

Here, the mice developed a 70% risk of developing diabetes and a 50% risk of undergoing obesity.

Stress and Frustrations in Life

The environment has become chemically toxic and the rate of pollutants is only going high, not decreasing.

For being caught up in continuous multi-tasking even after retirement plants the seed of lack of sleep and weight gain after 60. Insomnia and excessive level of cortisol become the reason of your body’s inability to break down trans-fat, processed foods and alcohol.

If you notice unexplained weight gain after 60, the origin of the problem might be instilled in your habit of smoking. Moreover, the economic problems arise after retirement which results in sleepless nights among many men.

Due to lack of sleep, your body undergoes the imbalance of ghrelin and leptin. These two hormones contribute extensively in curbing your unwanted hunger pangs and emotional eating.

Environmental Factors and Weight Gain after 60

Polluted and harmful environmental elements have been increasing different medical conditions. Now the dramatic rise of synthetic chemical production is indirectly linked to weight gain.

One of the studies reveals that weight gain after 60 might take place because of your body being exposed to obesogens changing metabolic function.

With the growing number of obesogens, your body gradually becomes a victim of more body fat.

Organic pollutants like polychlorinated biphenyls and organo-chlorine pesticides might be the reasons behind obesity and diabetes. Usually, these health hazards are found in pesticides and plastics.

Preventing Weight Gain after 60 like a Pro

As age related weight gain is a serious issue faced by a large scale of elderly population, there are certain preventive measures to be taken for prolonging the living rate.

If a man can participate in weight training and aerobic exercise for 30 minutes per day, he can benefit on a large scale.

Only by taking baby steps, at first, you can choose to exercise ten to five minutes each day for building strength and burn accumulated fat.

• Check your hormone levels periodically. Menopause is one of the reasons for female weight gain during old age.
• Functional strength training in your 60s is widely helpful for maintaining your balance. If a man exercises for two-three days per week, he can improve bone density, balance, strength and lean muscle mass.
• For shedding unnecessary weight gain after 60, one should opt for cardiovascular exercise five to six times per week.
• Eating five to six meals in your 60s can better metabolism and nourish your muscles to the core for making them healthy and strong.
• Never forget to add good quality protein for keeping the healthy muscles of your body strong. It is wise to take help of a nutritionist to know what type of protein is best for your health condition.
• The body takes more time to recover from strenuous workout routine. Hence, sleeping for 8 hours straight is much needed when you are growing old.
• Stay away from highly processed and deep fried foods, alcohol and smoking for limiting fat accumulation in the body.

For understanding well how to prevent weight gain, you should take a look at the personalised weight loss program.

Only with the help of expert advice, good nutrition, ample rest, normal hormone level, effective exercise program and personal training, a person regardless of age or sex, can say goodbye to unwanted body fat.

In a nutshell, do not fall into the trap of a sedentary lifestyle and you should try to stay active always.

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