By maintaining an acceptable weight, you minimise many health risks, and maximise the opportunities to live an independent, enjoyable life for longer.
Weight control is of utmost importance, especially for those suffering from a chronic disease. Any small amount of excess body fat increases risks to health.
We come in such different shapes and sizes that the ideal weight can be a confusing concept to grasp. In terms of Body Mass Index, you are of acceptable weight when between 20 and 24.9 kg/m2. Your energy balance will be steady, with energy intake equalling energy output.
Maintaining weight
The aim is to remain close to your ideal weight, since it tends to increase with age as the metabolic rate decreases. Most people have to adjust their food intake in a downward direction.
On average we put on 1 lb (0.45 kg) per year. This slow but sure weight gain can take us by surprise, especially if there has been no obvious change in lifestyle. If left unchecked, it can lead to gradually increasing obesity. An increase of just 8 kcal/day, less than half a teaspoon of sugar, can lead to a weight gain of 10 kg (1.5 stone) over 20 years.
We can dictate the extent of weight gain through adjusting diet and exercise, but why should the it occur in the first place?
The effect of growing older
A certain proportion of metabolically active lean tissue is replaced with fat as we grow older, which decreases our Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). Consequently, we expend less energy on maintaining body processes. This, in addition to generally becoming less active, means that energy intake should be reduced accordingly to compensate for the decreased energy output. This is not the experience of most 50-60 year olds.
Being a nation of food lovers, we enjoy the whole scenario of eating, the smell, taste, and pure romanticism. We become our own worst enemy, eating out, entertaining, and taking more lavish holidays.
Although we may think we take plenty of exercise, through recreational activities such as shopping and visiting friends, it is a fact that as a nation our exercise levels are low.
Health risks
Maintaining an acceptable weight means effectively minimising risks to health. Some people, however, can be relatively lean, but still be at greater risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes in particular, due to body fat distribution.
When fat accumulates around the abdomen, giving an apple shape, it becomes a greater risk to health compared to when fat accumulates around hips and thighs, giving a pear shape.
The reasoning behind this is unclear, but it appears that cholesterol in abdominal fat (visceral fat) circulates more easily in the blood, helping give rise to blocked arteries which result in heart disease. Body fat around the hips is safely stored between skin and body wall (subcutaneous fat) and is less available to the circulation.
There is an increased tendency to become apple-shaped as we age and with a higher BMI. Lean apple-shaped people can be at greater risk of developing cardiovascular diseases than overweight pear-shaped people.
The best way to check whether you are an apple or a pear is to measure your waist-to-hip ratio (WHR). Central obesity is defined when the WHR exceeds 0.95 for men and 0.85 for women. Above this ratio, there is an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
WHR The average ratios in the UK are 0.90 for men and 0.79 for women. These high ratios have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. |
You can read more about WHR in the All about it section.
A positive outlook prevents an unequal energy balance
A healthy attitude to food, exercise and life can prove invaluable. Motivation is essential to maintain an acceptable weight. It can be more motivating if the reasons for wanting to maintain weight are health related rather than cosmetic and you can still obtain enjoyment from food.
The realistic approach to weight management
Besides motivation, establishing realistic targets is essential. Focus on lifestyle changes that you can maintain, rather than the end result, and dont be tempted to try and recapture the weight of when you were 18.
A healthy diet and exercise should become routine. The aim is to be physically active for 30 minutes each day to maintain an even weight.
Keep eating foods that you enjoy and occasionally do a food diary to calculate energy intake.
How did you lose weight?
The ease of maintaining acceptable weight will depend on how you lost it in the first place, and whether you achieved realistic lifestyle changes that you could easily sustain.
| Consider the following | Yes |
| I lost weight slowly | |
| I developed healthy practices, such as eating plenty of fruit and vegetables | |
| I exercise regularly, as part of my lifestyle | |
| I am aware of portion sizes / calorie contents | |
| I eat only when hungry | |
| I do not eat leftovers for the sake of it | |
| |
| The more statements that you can agree with, the greater your chance of maintaining your acceptable weight. |
Awareness of weight fluctuations
Weight will naturally vary throughout the day due to fluid retention or loss. For example, fluid retention after a heavy meal results in apparent weight gain, whereas weight loss appears to have occurred overnight (after emptying the bladder). Such weight gains and losses can amount to a fluctuation of 0.5 kg (1.2 lb) over the day, up to 2 kg during cyclic changes in water balance throughout the menstrual cycle.
These changes are not cumulative and tend to cancel out one another over a period of time.
20/05/2009