Page 48 - Seniorstoday July 2022 Issue
P. 48

Health





















        Managing your


        weight after 50





        Dr Nandini Saini lists crucial ways to help regain fitness and manage our
        weight as seniors

         Letting go of those few extra pounds at            glands, causing them to either over or
         any age can be difficult, but the task seems       underproduce these hormones, causing a
         more challenging, the goal even more               host of deficiencies and imbalances.
         unattainable, once you’ve crossed fifty.           Menopause
         Ever wonder why it’s so?                           The most common hormonal change seen
                                                            in women, in which the ovaries produce
         Causes of weight gain after 50                     less estrogen and progesterone than
         Weight gain can occur at any age; there are        normal; the pituitary gland, trying to
         a lot of factors that contribute. However,         compensate, produces increased amounts
         losing that weight is easier at a younger          of follicular stimulating hormone.
         age. Once a person crosses 50, there are            Menopause can affect women in different
         certain causes of weight gain which are            ways- mood swings, hot flushes, higher
         tough to control, physiological changes in         libido. It can also result in weight gain,
         the body, which one isn’t even aware of.


         Let’s see what some of them are…
         1. Hormonal changes
         Hormones are chemicals produced by
         certain glands in the body, and form a
         system called endocrine system. This
         system is crucial to the regular functioning
         of our body – it controls the appetite,
         digestion, mood etc.
          Age, among other factors, affects the


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