As muscle mass deteriorates, it's replaced by new layers of fat, especially around the waist and stomach: middle-age spread. By the time you hit your 60s and 70s you can have up to 30 per cent more body fat than you had in your 20s.
Even if you're slim in younger years, the dreaded “middle aged spread” can happen - but there are plenty of ways to combat against it. If your arms have developed bingo wings, if you can't see your feet for your belly anymore, or if you can pinch an inch more easily than you used to, then you're certainly not alone.
With age (predominately during middle age), hormone levels drop in both women and men. We hear a lot about menopause in women, but men also have a drop in hormones during this time, and this tends to lead to growth of the fat cells in the abdomen.
Generally, the amount of fat you carry increases. For men, steady weight gain starts at around 30 years old and can continue until age 55. This excess weight tends to grow around the stomach. At the same time, muscle mass and lean tissues start to decrease too.
Changing your diet alone can have a major effect on your belly fat — but to help you along the way, you're going to want to get active. The combination of diet and exercise is still the best ticket to permanent gut reduction, especially if you start building new routines based around an overall healthier lifestyle.
To lose stomach overhang you have to burn fat cells in both the fat you can see directly under the skin and also the more dangerous fat that you can't see that surrounds your organs. Cardio such as swimming, aerobics, running or dancing will burn this excess fat store.
Increase Your Cardio
Moreover, cardiovascular exercise leads to increased muscle mass and reduced waist circumference, belly fat, and overall body fat. If you're trying to lose weight, aim for 150 to 300 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise per week. This equates to around 20 to 40 minutes of exercise per day.
They found that while cellular ageing didn't appear to start in the men until age 40, on average, it then happened very rapidly. In contrast, the first signs of ageing in the women seemed to begin at around age 19, but then progressed gradually.
Men have a higher tendency to accumulate abdominal visceral fat compared to pre-menopausal women. The accumulation of abdominal visceral fat in men, which is a strong independent predictor of mortality, is mainly due to the higher dietary fat uptake by their abdominal visceral fat.
The hard belly is caused by the build-up of visceral fat, a soft belly is caused by subcutaneous fat, which is located near to your skin. Subcutaneous fat makes your belly jiggly, unlike the visceral fat. One cause behind the build-up of visceral fat could be your genetics.
Researchers with Duke University's School of Medicine suggest that physical decline begins in the decade of the 50s and worsens as we age, especially for those who don't exercise.
After age 30, people tend to lose lean tissue. Your muscles, liver, kidney, and other organs may lose some of their cells. This process of muscle loss is called atrophy. Bones may lose some of their minerals and become less dense (a condition called osteopenia in the early stages and osteoporosis in the later stages).
Some men develop depression, loss of sex drive, impotence and other physical and emotional problems when they reach their late 40s or early 50s. Other health problems which occur for men in this age group are: hot flushes.
Recent studies show that menopausal women on hormone therapy tend to have less body fat, especially visceral belly fat. Because estrogen affects how your body distributes fat, low estrogen levels can contribute to gaining fat in your belly area.
Midlife spread is the common name for the extra roll of abdominal fat many women develop around menopause, thought to be due to reduced oestrogen levels encouraging a change in fat storage. It is estimated that, between the ages of 45 and 55 years, the average woman will gain at least half a kilo each year.
Women are more likely to become 'apple-shaped' after the menopause, with fat stored around their middle rather than more evenly distributed across their hips, thighs and arms.
While men seem to be genetically predisposed to be attracted to women in their mid-to-late-20s, women tend to be attracted to men around their ages, if not older; this means men in their 30s have the best of both worlds. Men in their 30s are attractive to a wide range of women, from 20-somethings to women in their 40s.
On average, men stop caring about their physical appearance around age 46, while women struggle to keep up appearances until 59. The survey also revealed four in ten men say walking up the stairs is the most exercise they get on any given day.
Historically, the United Nations has defined an "older" person as anyone 60 years or older, regardless of that person's individual history or where in the world they live.
While there isn't one magic food that will melt away belly fat, studies have reported certain foods have special belly-fat-burning benefits, such as avocado, artichokes, whole grains, kefir, green tea, eggs, peanuts and chickpeas.
Lemon water can promote fullness, support hydration, boost metabolism, and increase weight loss. However, lemon water is no better than regular water when it comes to losing fat. That being said, it is tasty, easy to make, and can be used as a low-calorie replacement for high-calorie beverages.
Get active.
Strength training exercises are recommended at least twice a week. If you want to lose weight or meet specific fitness goals, you might need to exercise more. There is some evidence that high-intensity interval training (HIIT) can help reduce belly fat, as can strength training.