Middle-age spread can be beaten through exercise and diet
It's harder to stay lean as you age, but middle-age spread can be moderated with exercise and a healthy diet, writes Kate Whitehead
There's nothing attractive about middle-age spread, but when those cheeky love handles turn into a tyre around your middle, there's more at stake than not being able to fit into your favourite jeans - it's a serious health risk.
As we age, changes in our body make it easier to pile on the pounds - our metabolism slows, muscle atrophies and hormone levels change. Add to this a more sedentary and often more stressful lifestyle and it all adds up to a gut.
Do cardio and weight-bearing exercises, as both are good for you
That's the last place you want to store fat because belly fat increases your risk of heart disease, cancer and diabetes.
Before this gets too depressing, the good news: getting older doesn't have to mean getting fatter, it just means working harder to keep the weight off and being smart about it. The first thing to realise is that when we hit middle age we start losing muscle mass and so don't need as many calories as we did in our youth.
"Once you get into your 40s you probably need about 200 fewer calories a day, which means if you keep eating the same as you did in your 20s you will gain weight," says Dr Nichola Salmond, a general practitioner at Dr Lauren Bramley & Partners.
To keep the pounds off, you also have to make smart food choices. Everything we know about a healthy diet holds doubly true. Dietitian and nutritionist Gabrielle Tuscher draws up individualised diet plans for clients based on their age, gender and lifestyle.