Why does weight gain with age? How to calculate the normal weight for each age? How to determine your body type

Why is this happening? The older we get, the more difficult it becomes to fight excess weight (and we recover at the same time, on the contrary, faster)?

In fact, this is an absolutely natural process and there is at least one objective explanation for it. And today we will tell you what it means to get better “not from meatballs, but from years”, or why we begin to gain weight from food as we get older.

Older = Thicker?

Our body is constantly changing over time. This applies to the condition of muscles, bones, as well as metabolic rate.

The body of a 10-year-old child will work very differently when he turns 25, 40 or 65 years old. The amount of muscle mass will also vary with age (muscles are stronger in youth than in old age).

Therefore, over the years, it is completely normal to notice fat deposits where they were not there before, or in places where it was easy to get rid of them.

The fact is that our energy costs vary depending on a particular stage of life.

When we are young, we expend a lot of energy, but the older we get, the less and less this figure becomes. This is mainly because we make better use of it.

And the base energy consumption is reduced for two reasons:

1. The percentage is changing

As we grow up, we lose muscle and store fat.

For example, the percentage of fat in a man between the ages of 20 and 30 ranges between 18 and 21%; from 41 to 50 years - from 23 to 25%, and for men 60 years and older - more than 26%.

The same thing happens to women: 22 to 24% fat in women aged 20-30; from 27 to 30% at the age of 41-50 years and more than 31% after 60 years.

Fat builds up naturally, but muscle mass decreases because it is the muscles that expend most of the available energy.

2. The production of hormones changes

This applies not only to women during menopause, but also to men.

The hormonal background is directly related to the weight of our body, since hormones can make us sleep more, for example, or eat more.

As we grow older, hormones begin to work to reduce energy expenditure, since we no longer have the vitality that we had before. This means that the body stores fat more easily (especially in the waist area).

This is how our body prepares for reduced physical activity or any health problem that requires immobility.

It's easier to get better after 30

It should be borne in mind that changes in the body appear not only in old age. So do not give yourself up with abundant and fatty foods after 30.

As we get older, we notice that the waist becomes wider, the stomach "swells", and the clothes no longer fit on us the way they used to.

The more candles we blow out on our birthday cake, the sooner we gain extra weight. And the addiction here seems to be completely straightforward, even if we continue to adhere to the same eating habits.

The fight against overweight and obesity is becoming fiercer with each passing year.

Improper diet, stress, genetic predisposition and a sedentary lifestyle can negatively affect the amount of pounds gained, as well as cause hormonal imbalances and require certain medications.

It is hormones, to a greater extent, that are responsible for the fact that fat begins to be deposited in the body.

From the age of 30, estrogen, progesterone and androgens no longer work the way they did before. And since they are responsible for maintaining our body weight, it is understandable why we see the "results" of their updated mode of work on our thighs, stomach or buttocks.

Sources of energy, which seemed inexhaustible at the age of 15-20, gradually disappeared, our way of life of life became, if not completely sedentary, then certainly less mobile.

If you add to this your work and leisure (going to the cinema or theaters, dinner at a restaurant or a trip to a resort where "all inclusive"), then you can see the rule "the older, the thicker" in action. The equation is more than simple.

Weight gain isn't the only change in adulthood

But what happens if I lead a healthy lifestyle, eat right and exercise? In this case, you should monitor the amount of calories consumed.

• A 31-year-old woman who, for example, weighs 60 kg, must consume 2000 calories a day to stay at her weight.
• The same woman at the age of 45 will already spend about 1850 calories per day (which means that you need to consume that much).
• And if she continues to consume 2,000 calories, then 150 will simply become "extra". And then in about 6 months she will easily gain about 4 kg.

But you and I must think not only about the extra pounds that appear with age, but also about various diseases associated with it.

We mean osteoporosis caused by bone loss, or osteoarthritis(due to joint problems).

To avoid gaining excess weight with age, you need to adjust your habits and your lifestyle in general, depending on the number of years lived.

What can you do to achieve this?

• Continue to exercise, even if not very intense (Pilates, swimming, etc.)
• Reduce your intake of fat, salt, and flour.
• Do not smoke or abuse alcohol.
• Get enough sleep.

Finally, you need to understand that it is simply impossible to have the same body and the same clothing size at 25 and 50 years old. Over two decades, our habits (and life itself) have changed, and our body simply adjusted to these changes.

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site found 5 ways fitness professionals use to calculate optimal weight.

Method 1. Quetelet index

If you know the body mass index, you can judge obesity or underweight. The index is calculated for adult men and women from 20 to 65 years old. Results can be false for pregnant and lactating women, athletes, the elderly and adolescents (under 18).

The resulting figure will be your index. The norm for men is 19-25. For women - 19-24.

Method 2. Volumes

The Quetelet index is a good indicator of the amount of fat in the body, but does not indicate how fat is distributed, in other words, it does not give a visual picture. But you can check your body for ideality using one more formula.

The distribution of fat throughout the body is determined by the ratio: waist circumference (at the level of the navel) divided by the volume of the buttocks. The norm for men is 0.85; for women - 0.65 - 0.85.

Method 3. Taking into account age

It has been proven that the weight of men and women should gradually increase with age - this is a normal physiological process. The kilograms that some people think are "unnecessary" may not actually be. You can use a formula based on age to determine your optimal weight.

P - in this case, height, and B - age in years. Body weight = 50 + 0.75 (P - 150) + (B - 20): 4

Method 4. Brock's formula

One of the most popular methods for calculating ideal weight is Broca's formula. It takes into account the ratio of height, weight, body type and age of a person.

Brock's formula for people under 40 years old: height (in cm) minus 110, after 40 years - height (in cm) minus 100.

At the same time, people with an asthenic (thin-boned) body type must subtract 10% from the result, and people with a hypersthenic (large-boned) body type must add 10% to the result.

How to determine your body type? It is enough to measure the circumference of the thinnest place on the wrist with a centimeter.

Method 5. Nagler's formula

There is Nagler's formula that allows you to calculate the ideal weight-to-height ratio. For 152.4 cm of growth, 45 kg of weight should fall. For every inch (that is, 2.54 cm) over 152.4 cm, there should be another 900 g. Plus another 10% of the resulting weight.

Method 6. John McCallum's formula

One of the best formulas created by expert methodologist John McCallum. Its formula is based on measuring the girth of the wrist.

1. 6.5 times the wrist is equal to the chest.
2. 85% of the chest circumference is equal to the hip circumference.
3. To get the waist circumference, you need to take 70% of the chest circumference.
4. 53% of the chest circumference is equal to the thigh circumference.
5. For neck girth, you need to take 37% of the chest girth.
6. The bicep girth is about 36% of the chest girth.
7. Calf circumference is slightly less than 34%.
8. The girth of the forearm should be equal to 29% of the girth of the chest.

But not all physical data will exactly correspond to these ratios, the numbers have an average, average statistical value.

A few more options for the ratio of height and weight:

1. The physique is considered ideal if the waist circumference is 25 cm less than the hip circumference, and the thigh circumference is approximately equal to the chest circumference.
2. The waist circumference should be equal: height in centimeters - 100. That is, a woman with a height of 172 cm will be folded in proportion if the waist circumference is 72 cm, the circumference of the hips and chest is about 97 cm, that is, if she wears clothing size 48.
3. If the hip girth is less than the chest girth, and the waist girth is 20 cm less than the hip girth, then such a figure is called an "apple". If the girth of the chest is less than the girth of the hips, and the girth of the waist is 30 cm or more less than the girth of the hips, this is a "pear" shape.
4. For women and girls of average height - from 165 to 175 cm - this observation turned out to be true. Their waist circumference in centimeters is approximately equal to their weight in kilograms. One kilogram of weight loss gives a decrease in the waist by one centimeter.

The ideal weight is believed to be the one you had at age 18. It is advisable to keep it throughout your life. But if you have broken away from the ideal over the past 15–20 years or more, you should not strive to return to it at any cost. After all, every 10 years of life, the body's energy consumption decreases by about 10%. Accordingly, for every 10 years we add about 10% (5–7 kg): first from the same ideal weight, later from the one we have. And the fat should be driven off carefully, focusing on the same 10%, only in a year. In addition, it is better to strive not for eighteen-year-old weight, but to calculate your new ideal according to one of the medical formulas.

Brocca's formula

Ideal weight for men = (height in centimeters - 100) 1.15.

Ideal weight for women = (height in centimeters - 110) 1.15.

Example: The ideal weight of a woman with a height of 170 cm = (170 - 110) 1.15 = 69 kg.

Surely, this formula will remind many of the long-standing "height minus 100" for men and "height minus 110" for women. This is really an improved version of that old formula. The fact is that the previous version required everyone to be fitness models, did not take into account either age or body type. Therefore, neither people with heavy bones and large muscles, nor women with pronounced hips and breasts could fit into it at all. Therefore, scientists have reworked the old Brock's formula, and in its current form it looks quite realistic.

Lorenz's dream

Ideal weight of a woman = (height in centimeters - 100) - (height in centimeters - 150) / 2.

Example: Ideal weight for a woman with a height of 165 cm = (165 - 100) - (165 - 150) / 2 = 65 - 15/2 = 57.5. Ideal weight - 57.5 kg!

Please note that this formula was developed for women only and will in no way suit the stronger sex. At first glance, it is too demanding on weight compared to Brocca's improved formula and rather indicates just that ideal weight when you were eighteen years old. However, it is completely consistent with the body mass index (BMI), so it is quite possible to use it. If you are upset with the proposed numbers, then just forget about it and use a different formula. By the way, it will not work for women taller than 175 cm anyway.

Egorov-Levitsky table

Maximum permissible body weight

Example: A 45-year-old woman weighs 76 kg with a height of 170 cm. This is not much at all, it is less than the maximum allowable!

The compilers took into account everything that is possible: gender, age, height. Only the lower limit of the weight was not limited. But this is understandable - the table helps to find out if you are overweight, and not underweight. In our opinion, this is the most complete and balanced approach to ideal weight.

Quetelet index

Index = weight in grams / height in centimeters.

This is also a method to estimate the weight already present, close to the BMI method described above. No wonder they have one author. Here, the result obtained should also be compared with the table, but this option also takes into account the physique. It can be defined very simply: stand in front of a mirror, pull in your stomach as much as possible and place two rulers or just your palms on the two lower ribs. They form an angle. If he is rather dumb (over 90 grams), you have a large physique. If almost straight, the physique is normal. If the angle is sharp, the physique is considered lean.

Example: Weight and height index of a 45-year-old woman weighing 70 kg with a height of 160 cm, a large physique = 70,000 / 160 = 437.5. For her, this is normal weight. And if she was 6 years younger or had a different body type, she would be considered too fat!

This formula inspires respect because it takes into account many factors: age, and body type. It can be used for any height, you just need to be honest with yourself when assessing your body type. In any case, approaching 5-10 points to the upper limit of the table index is a reason to correct your diet and move more.

Quetelet calculation or body mass index (BMI)

Body mass index (BMI): weight in kilograms / (height in meters x height in meters).

This formula evaluates the weight already present and indicates in which direction it should be changed. Recall that to square a digit, you just need to multiply it by itself. Compare the result with the table.

Example: BMI of a woman with a height of 170 cm and a weight of 72 kg = 72 / 1.7. 1.7 = 24.9. She is overweight, she is still far from obesity, but she should at least not gain kilograms, and even better - lose 3-4 kg.

When comparing your weight with BMI, you need to know some features that, as a rule, are not mentioned anywhere. This formula is true for people of average height (men - 168-188 cm and women 154-174 cm). Those who are below the ideal weight are 10% lower than the "formula", and the tall ones - 10% higher. In addition, this formula can "lie" when evaluating those who exercise five or more times a week. The indisputable plus of BMI is that it does not indicate a mythical ideal, but assesses the real weight and height.

"Health" is already a concept for medicine and doctors have long deduced a special formula by which any person can easily calculate the maximum acceptable weight in terms of health. This is taught even to schoolchildren when they are undergoing medical examinations. The normal weight of a person and by years, ages, the table shows how much body weight changes over time.

People are fat, thin, and average. Of course, women are trying to find their ideal weight, to maintain it. But first, it's worth finding out what it actually looks like. The normal weight of a person and by years, ages, the table was developed by doctors, they look more at healthy parameters, uniform, full-fledged development than beauty. So, ?

• Ideal weight - where is it
• Calculation methods
• Lorenz's dream
• Quetelet index

Ideal weight - where is it

Perfect - flawless, best, chic, beautiful. Who doesn't want to hear such compliments about themselves? Of course, girls strive for the ideal more. They watch tabloids, follow the news, involuntarily comparing their figure and famous stars.

By the way, many screen divas are constantly engaged, carefully monitoring their own nutrition. why they look great at 30, 40 and even 60. The figures are beautiful, fit. Of course, sometimes they also resort to plastic surgery, but there is little that can tighten the figure except sports. However, in people, after all, their height, age and 30-year-olds cannot be compared to 50 or 60 years old.

A person has his own ideal mass size. Doctors advise looking at growth, metabolism, health status. if you look at the very concept of "ideal weight", then most women will answer, this is the weight that they had by the age of 17-18, young, adorable nymphs.

It is desirable, of course, to keep it and then, but if you nevertheless broke away from the former ideal, then you should not immediately rush to diets, starvation, in an attempt to immediately and irrevocably return there, to youth.

Scientists have shown that the body gradually slows down its internal rhythm by 8-10% approximately every 8-10 years. The metabolism decreases, the processes of natural fat burning slow down, so an increase of 5-7 kg is a normal, healthy phenomenon.

It is also necessary to drive off fat, if any, gradually, focusing on those 8-10% of the already existing weight, but for a year. And for a healthy, developed figure, there is no need to remember 18 years old weight, but to be guided by a simple formula, known since school times:

For men: the ideal weight will turn out = (factor height-100) * 1.15;
For women: the ideal weight will turn out = (factor height-110) * 1.15.
Then: a woman whose height is 170 cm = (170-100) * 1.15 = 69 kg.

In a more familiar version, the number 1.15 was not yet available. This is an improved version. The early formula required everyone to become real fitness models, moreover, it does not matter if a person's bones are heavy, whether large muscles, how pronounced a woman's hips or breasts are. Therefore, scientists have worked a little on the formula for.

What body types exist now:

Hypersthenics are people with shortened arms, short legs, also a short neck, but broad shoulders.
Normostenic - most people have an average metabolic rate.

Asthenic - people whose metabolism, on the contrary, is increased, narrow shoulders, also long legs, arms.

How to identify your body type?

It is not necessary to be seen in a growth mirror. With your right hand, using your thumb and forefinger, grasp the wrist of the other, left hand in the place where the bone is felt.

Failed to connect fingers - hypersthenic;
It turned out, only with difficulty - a normostenic;
It turned out easy - asthenic.

Features of formation, weight growth, of course, also depend on gender. It is believed that a man is heavier than a woman, larger than her (in most cases). This is also conceived by nature, although in humans, gender differences are not so pronounced. Women still have breasts, hips are more pronounced, in men, on the contrary, the muscles are more developed. All this, of course, will also affect weight.

There are many ways to determine your ideal weight.

Calculation methods

Electronic scales - probably, they met such high ones, they immediately reveal growth. You need to get close to the vertical scale, barefoot, then wait a few seconds. The result is announced, in addition, the machine determines the value of the optimal weight;

The tables are ready-made, developed by doctors. Everything is reflected there: height, men, women, as well as children, separate tables indicating the maximum ideal weight. It is enough to weigh yourself, measure your height and then find the parameters in the table;

There are tables for schoolchildren, doctors regularly measure their parameters in order to adjust, if possible, and track developmental norms. Of course, the concept of "standard" is not very applicable to adolescents, for example, boys often mature later than girls, and children of the same age are different in height, and the difference is quite large. Any class is a good example.

A similar difference is visible from childhood. At 6-7 years old, children are about the same, both boys and girls, then their bodies develop, each grow in its own way. Therefore, there is no need to rely 100% only on the data in the tables. Better fit a formula focused on height-weight, external indicators, development dynamics.

As for babies, their weight is, of course, monitored, and the first months are almost weekly. It is important for doctors to watch the rate of weight gain, how the child eats, what problems with digestion. Indeed, in babies, the digestive tract system, metabolism are only getting better. The body grows and any underweight then affects health.

Therefore, most parents take with a crib, diapers and other "set of a newborn" also special scales with a convenient tray where the child is placed. And tables help doctors track the dynamics of weight gain. It is believed that on a good, nutritious diet, with proper care and without problems with the gastrointestinal tract, newborns should add certain grams of weight every day.

Men, of course, should watch their own weight, although they do not chase the ideal so much. "Beer belly" or general large mass brings many problems, especially in terms of health. constant shortness of breath, heaviness, weight always puts pressure on the bones, the spine. If the pressure is too much, they hurt, and sprains often occur.

Formulas - calculation systems are easy to apply, the main thing is to know the parameters. Measure the actual height, weigh yourself. And arm yourself with a calculator. Modern electronic scales are capable of measuring weight to the slightest gram, which sometimes both upsets and pleases those who are losing weight. Brock's formula was already discussed above, this is the application of 1.15 to the result of weaning 100 from the available growth. How else can you “fold” “divide” yourself?

Lorenz's dream

For a woman = (actual height, centimeters -100) - (actual height, centimeters - 150) / 2

Then, for example, it will be: for a woman where the height is about 165 cm = (165-100) - (165-150) / 2 = 57.5 kg will be the ideal weight!
True, such a formula is really only for women, it is not designed for the stronger sex! The meaning is quite expected. For 165 cm - 57 kg is normal.

Although some believe that the formula, on the contrary, is more demanding, wanting to "return" the hostess to her 18-year-old ideal weight, but for BMI (that body mass index) it is quite suitable. By the way, for women who will be taller than 175cm, this formula is also not applicable, so you should be careful here. Otherwise, you will get 20 or 100 kg.

Quetelet index

This method is perfect for texture. The ability to assess your existing weight. Not bad! After all, most of the measurement methods are only for the future, suggest what then it is worth striving for. And then - to assess the situation now. According to the method, you need not only to weigh yourself and find the result later in the table, but to find out the features of your physique.

Stand directly in front of a large, growth mirror, pull in your stomach, as it happens. Then place the two middle rulers (palms can be used) to the last two lower ribs. It can be seen that they form their own angle:

Dull - large build (over 90 degrees);
Almost straight - normal;
Sharp - thin.

True, another table will be required here, but this method will take into account both age and the existing body type. easy to use for any height, the main thing is to honestly evaluate the physique.
Doctors can more easily determine the actual situation by using the index. There is obesity or, conversely, underweight.

For some reason, most people assume that the problem of obesity is a real evil that must be removed immediately. Here, the weight "went away" by 10-15 kg more than the maximum indicated in the table, that's it, it's time to lose weight, and urgently. Women are especially worried, although men also want to look great.

Before starting any action, you need to accurately determine the current weight, find out more about the figure, body type. Metabolism, existing diseases are already determined by the doctor, separately. He will need, in addition to the usual visual examination, more tests.

There are individual specialists who help people determine the problem of excess or underweight, then eliminate it without putting much pressure on the body at all. Indeed, in addition to obesity, there is also excessive thinness, it is also dangerous. And sometimes gaining weight becomes much more difficult than losing it. It is really easier to remove the existing one if you know how.

The details of the measurements were studied in schools, either the school nurse did it, or the children measured themselves in some lesson. Girls are especially familiar with measurement systems. Waist or hip measurements, chest measurements for sewing skirts or aprons. Okay, sewing, but how do you find your ideal weight? After all, the height of people is different, the metabolism is also different, the weight of the bones is also different.

After all, the total mass is made up not only of fat:

Bone weight;
The weight of all fabrics;
Muscle weight;
Organ weight;
Skin weight;
Hair weight (yes, hair also has weight, especially long hair);
A couple of grams are for clothes;
Weight of fluid, all, and blood and intracellular fluid and lymph, all;
Weight of food, nutrients;
Fat weight.

Most% of the actual mass of any person weighing in is useful mass, which can no longer be removed. Fat is 10-20% and then from the last weight gain. Those who have recently gained weight or have dramatically lost weight have previously had one weight for many years.

Women are more likely to gain weight, for example, after childbirth. The child "takes" part of the gained kilograms with birth, the rest of the mother has to dump then herself. Some women complain that it is extremely difficult to return to the old, girlish figure. True, there are cases when mothers, on the contrary, lost weight a couple of months after giving birth, and they became even slimmer than they were before pregnancy.

Doctors always refer to such "weight jumps" as hormonal changes that have occurred inside the body since the onset of pregnancy. Plus, the expectant mother ate more high-calorie foods rich in minerals and vitamins, trying for the child. Not everything "went away", some calories "settled" in extra pounds.

Weight versus height table for women

Height to weight ratio table for men