If you're over 65, you might want to reconsider BMI

A new study published in the American Journal of Public Health [may ask for registration] seems to show that being too thin or too fat is dangerous for older women, but being "just right" will mean reconsidering the ideal BMI.

For BMI, the lowest mortality rates were in the range 24.6 to 29.8 kg/m2. The U-shaped relations were seen throughout the age ranges included in this study and were not attributable to smoking or measures of preexisting illness. Body composition measures were not better predictors of mortality than BMI or waist girth.
Conclusions: Our results do not support applying the National Institutes of Health categorization of BMI from 25 to 29.9 kg/m2 as overweight in older women, because women with BMIs in this range had the lowest mortality.

Real Simple Weight Tips

In the July issue of Real Simple magazine, Susan Freinkel pulls together research about why and how we gain weight as we age. Here's a few things I learned from her article.

1) Starting at around age 40, the average American woman gains about a pound a year.

2) Beginning in the late 30s a woman begins to lose muscle tissue, which is replaced by fat.

3) Muscle burns about 3 times as many calories as fat.

4) Estrogen starts to ebb in the 40s--women begin to have food cravings/

5) As hormones decline, body fat tends to migrate--to the waist. This is true. My waist use to be 23-24, and it's right around 27.

6) Abdominal fat is more likely to cause health problems, and it is more difficult to lose.

7) Human growth hormone takes a dramatic drop in the 40s.

8) Abdominal fat also accumulates in response to stress. Cortisol channels fat to the midsection and intensifies cravings for high-fat foods.

9) Marriage tends to add weight for women.

10) Having children can lead to weight gain--women with children consume more fat and calories than women without children.

11) Women who weigh themselves every day are an average 7-8 lbs. lighter than those who don't

12) You make about 200 food decisions a day--most unconsciously. So the message here is "think before you eat."

13) 60% of high school girls say they engage in regular physical activity while only 34% of women 18-44 do.

14) And it declines even more as we age. 30% of older women get regular exercise. That'd be me, if you don't use the word "regular" to mean slavishly.

15) Obese people tend to sit for 150 more minutes a day than their lean counterparts.

16) Strength training helps post-menopausal women prevent weight gain and protects their bones.

17) If you eat the same as 20 years ago, you may be consuming 400 more calories a day than you need.

18) Portion control is influenced by the size of your plate.

19) Repackaging large containers of snacks can reduce your daily calories.

20) No time? Break up a 60 minute routine into 10 minute bites--skip the elevator, park further away, pace while talking on the phone. Even fidgeting burns calories.

Sent to you from the lobby of the Fountain Inn, Lakeside OH, and I do have on my walking clothes! Onward!