Gabe Mirkin, M.D.
Most people become fatter with aging because they are
less active, not because they eat more. Thirty minutes of
exercise a day may be enough for heart fitness, but it is not
usually enough to lose or maintain weight. Our grandparents
doing heavy manual labor were active for 8, 10 or more hours
every day. If you have a sedentary job, you need an exercise
strategy that includes very vigorous exercise, more time spent in
physical activity, or (preferably) both. Researchers from the
University of South Carolina showed that the increase in body fat
that accompanies aging can be completely prevented with
prolonged vigorous exercise (Medicine & Science in Sports &
Exercise, August 2005.) The authors studied 60 thousand male
runners and found that the more miles they ran, the thinner they
remained. Waist circumference increased with age at all running
distances, but the increase diminished in the men who ran
further.
This tells us that you must increase your physical activity
with age to prevent weight gain. Your chances for success will
improve if you find an activity you enjoy enough to do it for
several hours at a time, such as dancing, fast walking, rowing or
cycling. Then make your sport a regular part of your social life,
not just an exercise chore.
January 8, 2006