Saturday, October 3, 2009

Is weight gain inevitable as we get older?


Belly fat can creep up on us as we get older....but it's not inevitable.  A bulge is avoidable.  Most of the fat around our bellies isn't gained--it's weight that's shifted due to weakening bones, hormone changes, or possibly childbirth.  We can slow the shift with strength training.  A study from the National Institutes of Health showed that overweight and obese women who lifted weights just twice a week saw a smaller increase in intra-abdominal fat (7 percent over two years) than those who didn't exercise (their intra-abdominal fat went up 21 percent in two years).  So the take home lesson here is:  start lifting weights and we'll keep that belly fat at bay...and we might even get Michelle Obama arms as a perk!