Gaining Weight As You Age: What Are The Factors?

Sedentary lifestyle, hormonal and metabolic changes… many are the factors that contribute to weight gain with advancing age. A rather frustrating biological phenomenon which affects a large number of elderly people. But a recent study sheds new light on the matter, explaining why older people tend to gain weight.

Why are the elderly prone to gain weight?

You don't eat more than usual, you exercise regularly but you observe a slight weight gain with advancing age? So, to provide more information on this phenomenon, French and Swedish scientists began to examine the fatty tissues of elderly people. The study took place for a period of 13 years and was carried out on 54 men and women.

During this period, a reduction in activity in the lipid processing mechanism was observed in all individuals examined. For information, this mechanism plays a crucial role in the functions of the organism since it participates in the storage and elimination of fat. Patients who did not take this fact into account and who ate more calories than others, therefore gained 20% more weight.

In short, the results of this scientific research demonstrate for the first time that processes in human adipose tissue exert a regulatory function in weight change with age, regardless of other factors, explains Peter Arner, professor at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden.