Our bodies go through changes as we age. We all know about adolescence, puberty, menopause, and all the big changes that we go through through the years. Through it all, as the hormonal balances of our bodies change, our bodies experience changes like less melanin in our hair follicles making our hair turn gray, and less skin elasticity causing wrinkles in our faces. One change we go through as we get older is how exercise and food impact the shape and weight of our bodies.
Where the Fat Goes On Your Body
Part of our body’s natural process of aging involves a change in the distribution of fat cells. As men age, the amount of testosterone generated decreases at a reliable rate of 1% per year, once the age of 30 is reached. This hormonal change alters the storage of fat on men’s bodies from a more even distribution to a concentration of fat in the abdomen. This increase can also cause more health problems that we associate with aging or fattening bodies, like heart disease and diabetes.
Women’s bodies also experience a decline in a major hormone, estrogen. Estrogen in larger concentrations experienced as a woman goes through puberty, distributes fat around her hips, thighs, buttocks, and breasts. The natural decline of estrogen as experienced in perimenopause and menopause can cause the subsequent redistribution of fat in a less shapely pattern, also tending to develop more in the abdomen than other parts of the body.
How Your Metabolism Changes
The method by which our bodies process food into energy, also called its metabolism, changes as we age. Age often brings a slowing of the metabolism, though most of the slow-down experienced in our later years is not caused by any intrinsic tendency but a reflection of lifestyle changes. As we get older, we tend to be less active than we were in our younger years. Our lives change, and we tend to move less, either for recreation or for exercise. Partly this is caused by an aging body, as we find the recovery times after strenuous exercise can be longer, making us less inclined to exercise in the future. Mostly, however, this change is due to a decrease in physical activity and less healthy food choices.
What You Can Do To Manage Your Weight
Just because your body is getting older and the distribution of fat changes doesn’t mean you’re powerless to do anything about it. The details of how we manage our weight in our later years are the same no matter what age we are. The best way to watch your weight is to exercise more and eat better. Studies show that people who remain active and maintain healthy diets are more likely to enter their golden years with a body they’re proud of.
If you’d like to learn more about dealing with weight and managing other parts of your appearance, reach out to Starks today.
Starks currently provides age management solutions from clinics located in France and Italy. Please click below to find out more about the aesthetic services we offer to our global clientele:
France:
Médecine Esthétique
Italy:
Medicina Estetica
