The Real Cause Of Middle Aged Spread – And How You Can Fight It

Most of us have accepted that a consequence of growing older is weight gain – especially around the middle. One study found that women gain an average of 20 pounds over the course of 16 years as they reach middle age. The problem for many is that the weight gain doesn’t occur over a short period of time, it creeps up on us as we become less active and continue with the same eating habits that we had in our 20s and 30s. And suddenly we’re 8kg (18lbs) heavier in our 40s than we were in our 20s.

But growing older doesn’t necessarily mean getting bigger around the middle. To effectively combat the dreaded middle-age spread it is necessary to know why it occurs, and once you understand the cause, you’re on your way to tackling it.

There are various reasons why middle-age spread occurs – dietary modification (or lack of), inactivity, loss of muscle mass, disturbed sleep. However there is one underlying cause that links all of the above, and which needs to be addressed in order to successfully fight off middle-age spread – and that is hormone imbalance.

Our bodies rely on hormonal balance to function optimally and remain in health. Oestrogen, progesterone, testosterone, and DHEA all work in unison to keep the body functioning smoothly. However as we age, levels of these hormones decline, causing many of the symptoms that lead to middle-age spread. As early as our 30s, a fall in hormone levels begins to slow our metabolisms so we burn less of our food for energy and store more of it as fat.

For example, one form of oestrogen – oestradiol helps to regulate metabolism and body weight, and declining levels may contribute to weight gain. Progesterone levels decline with age and this hormone has an effect on quality of sleep, and disturbed sleep can lead to weight gain. High levels of oestrogen increase fat storage, but for younger women this effect is offset by equally high levels of progesterone, however as women age, progesterone levels fall at a faster rate than oestrogen, and for most the imbalance results in weight gain.

Testosterone has a direct effect on muscle mass levels in both men and women, and levels decline as we grow older. Because declining muscle mass decreases the rate at which the body uses calories, it can lead to abdominal weight gain, especially if you continue to eat as you did when you were younger without increasing the amount of physical activity undertaken. And because muscle tissue is the single largest consumer of glucose in the body, less muscle means both that glucose isn’t used up, and there’s less room to store it (muscle stores glucose as glycogen), and this leaves excess glucose available to be converted into body fat and stored in the fat cells – mainly around the middle.

And even if we increase physical activity as we grow older to compensate for declining muscle mass and a slower metabolism, with levels of the hormones that keep us energised and vital in decline, the exertion will often wear us out.

So what can we do to manage hormones in order to keep some semblance of a waistline? First, see your GP to get your hormone levels tested, and if they are very low – and not compared to the baseline measures for your age which depict low as normal, but compared to more youthful levels. Bioidentical hormone replacement therapy can raise levels, and as well as this there are 6 other key modifications that you can make:

Eat Resistant Starch

Resistant starch is a form of starch found in carbohydrate foods that is more resistant to digestion than other starches, meaning that it takes longer to break down in the body, fills you up for longer, and has a lower calorie count (carbs are 4 calories per gramme, resistant starch is 2 calories per gramme). It is not digested in the small intestine like ordinary starch, therefore does not release glucose in the small intestine, and as a result the release of the fat-storing hormone insulin is minimised. Instead of being digested in the small intestine it is fermented in the large intestine by bacteria, which produce butyrate – a short-chain fatty acid which can be used for fuel. And the best thing about butyrate - it promotes the metabolism of fatty tissue for energy, just what we need to keep excess abdominal fat at bay.

Maintain Muscle

Muscle is metabolically active, and the more muscle you have, the more calories you will burn, even at rest. So as you age, it’s important to do resistance – or strength training, to keep your muscles strong. And it doesn’t mean joining a gym (nothing against gyms), but you can do callisthenic exercises at home such as press ups and triceps dips, and of course rebound exercise, which is very strengthening.

Maintain A Strong Core

Your core muscles, which are located in your back, abdomen, and pelvis, are important for good posture, and movement throughout the entire body, and strengthening them can not only help protect and support your back and spine, they can also flatten your tummy. Yoga and Pilates are excellent for strengthening the core muscles, as well as exercises you can do at home such as plank holds and leg drops.

Get Good Quality Sleep

If you’re experiencing disturbed sleep, this can make your fat-loss efforts more difficult. When you’re sleep-deprived, you have more of the hormone that increases hunger - ghrelin, and less of the hormone that signals satiety – leptin. And this combination equals weight gain.

Reduce Stress

High levels of the stress hormone cortisol, leads to an accumulation of fat around your middle. Cortisol not only makes us want to eat more, it also stimulates the quick release of carbohydrates and fats into the bloodstream so that they can be used as fuel to either fight or flee from the perceived threat. However, stress in our lives very rarely involves a physical reaction and we don’t need the extra energy released – we end up hungrier and eating more. And just to add to the damage, cortisol also triggers cravings for carbohydrates.

Be Active

Being sedentary for long periods decreases the activity of an enzyme called lipoprotein lipase, which helps us burn fat around the middle. So work more activity into everyday life, especially if you have a sedentary job. Stand often, such as when you’re on the phone; take the stairs; get up every 35 minutes if you spend long periods sitting; take a walk at lunch time; get a bike and cycle; get a stationary bike and cycle while you’re watching television; do a morning yoga class – there are excellent ones on YouTube, you don’t even have to leave the house!

Working the above 6 recommendations into your lifestyle and you’re well on your way to beating middle-age spread.