Obesity in Later Life......

Its New Year Resolution time and for many a diet plan will be included in the list! Hopefully the good intentions will not fall by the wayside.

We are all fighting the ageing process. For many,  they pass through the journey relatively unscathed healthwise others are less fortunate.
Doesn't it make sense to do everything we can not to contribute to our downfall?
Evidence shows excess weight can do to our bodies in terms of mobility, pressure on joints, circulation and conditions such as diabetes.........and yet people who should know better continue to eat for the sake of eating.


    http://www.ageuk.org.uk/Documents/EN-GB/Factsheets/Later_Life_UK_factsheet.pdf?dtrk=true

• Women aged 65+: 32% are of normal BMI, 32% ‘overweight’, and 34% ‘obese’. For men this age: only 16% are within normal BMI, 54% are overweight, and 31% obese 

The vast number of seriously obese passengers on our cruise ship last Sept was really disturbing. This wasn't about people enjoying their holiday and indulging themselves, it was more about feeding a habit. I have mentioned before a typical scenario of individuals piling their plates with pasta, chips and a bread rolls. It's something we would not have believed had we not seen with our own eyes. They then ask for help carrying their trays as their mobility is impaired. They wheeze and gasp with the effort of walking short distances. Whatever the underlying causes for this self destruction it really does have to be addressed. With an ageing population we need to stop ignoring the obesity problem and to be honest about how serious this is........and spell out the consequences of prolonging this kind of behaviour.


Help is provided in our already in our overstretched NHS. Families and friends can also do their bit by eating healthier together and providing a support group. Maybe join a slimming club if you can't find willing family and friends?


Portion control, the right healthier choices and not buying items which play to your weaknesses is a start.

Action not words! 

2015 saw friends losing 2/3/4 stones in weight - they feel better, some of their weight induced ailments have gone away and they look younger and have a new lease of life!!

With many of us living longer we all would like to feel we also have vitality and health to go along with our longevity! So what are you waiting for? :)

Back to Good Habits!!

I hate to say it but these past few days I have missed my daily gym routine! Inevtiably Conference means you have to sit for hours on end and your joints start to complain.  Certainly mine felt decidedly uncomfortable.  Yes I know I probably could have fitted in some exercise but it wouldn't have been easy.

I must confess today is my first day back in the gym and I have started to change my routine.  Before we went away I had an assessment on "Body Composition".  This has been made available at our gym with the first session free so I thought I might as well. Below is the blurb on this which explains what it provides much better than I can.   you just need to stand on the base and hold the hand grips for a couple of minutes and the machine then comes up with a variety of calculations which is produced like a supermarket till receipt.

I was quite sceptical about this at first but the results were impressive - the trainer takes you through your weight, muscle etc.  just as it says below.  I was amazed how I was carrying a little more fat in one leg than the other, arms were about the same....anyway the upshot was that I needed to work on my upper half more ....the core and so more weights!!  I also have to vary the routine in the gym - I do tend to concentrate on the cross trainer but now will alternate with other pieces and combine with weights.

Whats for sure is that there is no room for complacency.

I will have a further assessment in 3 months time and see if I have made progress with the various measures.

I returned home today feeling much better, energised and very warm and my knees felt much more flexible.......I know I will ache tomorrow but it will be worth it.

http://www.tanita.com

The addition of hand grips to Tanita's standard platform-based electrode system allows the BC-418 body composition analyzer to calculate regional body composition, empowering healthcare professionals to better determine health risks associated with abdominal fat.

Tanita is proud to introduce a significant improvement to the calculation of Basal Metabolic Rate. Instead of simply relying on weight, age, and gender, Tanita's proprietary formula takes into account Fat Free Mass, providing a higher level of accuracy compared to current BMR. Through the use of 8 polar electrodes, the Tanita BC-418 Segmental Body Composition Analyzer can show separate body mass readings for the right arm, left arm, trunk, right leg and left leg. It also prints out a complete body composition profile in seconds: including Weight, Body Fat Percentage, Body Fat Mass, Body Mass Index (BMI), Fat Free Mass, Estimated Muscle Mass, Total Body Water and Basal Metabolic Rate. The all-in-one compact column mount design, with integrated printer, makes the BC-418 perfect for use in small, dedicated spaces.

Tanita's professional Body Composition Analyzers provide weight and a complete body composition analysis in less than 30 seconds. All professional models use a single-point load cell weighing system in the scale platform to guarantee absolute precision and unbelievable longevity (up to 300, 000 uses before calibration.)

All political parties have been discussing the NHS  and the pressures it is facing.  Of course prevention is better than cure.  Most people will do what they can but others don't seem to feel that they need to........the obesity crisis which is a major concern was touched upon in a Q&A sessions. Many have opinions on the use of gastric bands and what can be done as alternatives.

Education is seen as one solution or part of the solution.  Personally I think we are all exposed to so much information on eating healthily and  about the need to combine with exercise but people choose to ignore the advice on offer and nothing you say or do will change their ways.

At our hotel this week, a couple appeared at the buffet breakfast and sat at the next table to us.  The man was slim and the woman was quite overweight. They were probably in their early 40s. Both went to collect their cooked breakfast.  The man returned with a modest plateful of food.  The woman had a considerable amount on her plate...sausages, bacon eggs, hash browns, baked beans......  She ate all of this and then followed with toast and fruit salad.  After a few minutes we heard her say she was still a bit peckish and she returned with another cooked breakfast......

I found this quite depressing - I don't have the answers. I do feel however the person needs to change themselves and to find what will it take for them to stop bad habits. Sadly for some it is when a significant medical issue arises........

Healthy Weight....

Getting older means increased maintenance....tedious but necessary!  If we have looked after our bodies along the way then we hope we have gained some credits! I don't know about you but certainly my conversations with my 60 ish friends and relatives often revolve around ailments and operations and we compare notes.

We look for advice from people we regard as the experts and in my book we look to them as role models.  I have mentioned this before when I had a routine medical overseen by an obese nurse. The consultation had an almost facial quality about it as she provided information on weight, blood pressure and the dangers of a poor diet..........  all good stuff but seemed to have been wasted on her.

This week there was an article in the Mail on this very subject - some medics had decided to take their own advice and lose considerable amounts of weight whilst the last one featured decided not to heed the dangers and his image to patients.

Have a read on the link below and see what you think!

 One fact really disturbed me in this article ...that a recent study revealed that 700,000 people that is half of all NHS staff are overweight or obese!!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2748371/Diet-It-s-job-warn-perils-obese-So-happened-health-experts-realised-fat.html

Cellulite Advice…...

Just been reading my latest "Good Housekeeping" Magazine which I find provides a wealth of information and advice for women. Page 89 of February 2014 edition has Dr Sarah Jarvis providing advice and support to many of the illnesses and peculiarities which affect all age groups. In her column she answer a question of a lady who is not overweight and has always been plagued by cellulite. Its worth a read and to heed advice…. regular exercise, keeping weight to appropriate levels, avoiding crash diets and too much alcohol is the best solution.

I have certainly found that regular exercise ideally an hour a day - for me cross trainer and squats deliver.  As you may have read from my previous posts…..I suddenly found I had a real problem and took myself in hand.  My exercise is part of my lifestyle now and my cellulite has disappeared apart from one small knot the size of a penny on the back of left thigh which isn't bad is it? I realised that there is no quick fix…………sadly………………...

Body Monitoring.............

About 2 years ago I bought the Omron Body Composition Monitor. It measures your weight, body fat, visceral fat, BMI and skeletal muscle.

 It was quite a party piece - every visitor wanted to have a go.  Some were quite smug about the results others quite worried.  This may have prompted the latter to do something about their adverse results, hopefully visit their GP.   

I monitored myself for about 6 months and the readings were fine and so I  lost interest and the monitor ended  up in a cupboard.

Just recently there have been health programmes on TV and more emphasis on the benefits of exercise and the impact on the body.  I remember that one of the concerns was about the fat that you can be fine weight wise but you could be accumulating fat around your internal organs (visceral fat) and if this is significant you may wish to examine your lifestyle. 

So curious to see how I was faring  I resurrected the Omron and have started monitoring again. All my readings were fine apart from the body fat which was just a tad over the ideal scale even though I am a regular exerciser.  So maybe for my frame I need to lose a little weight..........

Amazon have a similar item on offer for £49.95 (RRP £119.95) - I know I paid much more than this.


It is a useful tool if you are concerned about health and fitness and your general health.  It is also useful as I have found to revisit  from time to time to make sure that there haven't been major changes.

Secrets of a longer life!

According to an article today the secret to a longer life has 4 elements

1.  Regular Exercise

2.  Eating a Mediterranean - style diet

3.  Keeping a normal weight

4.  Not smoking

Theses are the findings of a large study by researchers at John Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.

Few surprises here really.  With such strong messages from this study and from all the other findings from other research we read daily you would think that the penny would drop and we would look to improving our daily lives.

I am minded of a situation I used to see regularly when I attended my last gym which was quite extensive as was....... the car park!  Some would turn up in their gear and almost come to blows with others to try and get the parking slot the nearest to the gym entrance so they wouldn't have far to walk  when they had finished their session..........

another anecdote - a  colleague decided to go on a diet and eat her breakfast at work.  She brought her own cereal bowl which wasn't small and filled it to the top with bran flakes and then covered with milk to the rim.  She devoured this in seconds and felt she was eating healthily.  She then had a latte......because .....yes you have guessed it - it was healthy.  When it was pointed out to her how many calories she had consumed before 9am she was shocked.  She then started to look more closely at the calories she was consuming in a day and it was close to 3000!

The harm smoking does to your body is well known often with fatal consequences.  Smoking also has an impact on appearance. Greyness in the skin and premature wrinkles particularly lines around the mouth.

Do we ever learn..............

ref:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2334928/Four-habits-longer-healthier-life-Regular-exercise-Mediterranean-diet-normal-weight-smoking-benefits.html