Few life milestones are less glamorous and ritualistic than the arrival of middle age. Our skin becomes visibly looser, we get more gray hair, and of course our clothes usually start to feel a little tighter, especially around the waist.
The last one is known as the midlife spread, and it's a commonly accepted idea that as we get older, we start to gain weight around our abdomen. This extra weight is said to be easier to gain and less stable than when we were younger, and it is thought that our active metabolism may slow down as we age. You can no longer get away with consuming this much, and your efforts to get rid of your stomach through diet and exercise will become a losing battle.
So far so miserable. However, in July last year, A study of more than 6,000 people around the world quickly debunked this idea.. It showed that our metabolism remains remarkably stable as we age, at least until our 60s. “From age 20 to age 60, the amount of calories you burn per day is about the same,” says Herman Pontzer of Duke University in North Carolina. “It turns out we have a much lower ability to control our metabolism than we thought.” This will be welcome news for those approaching the age of 45 (usually defined as those between 45 and 65) and facing a frightening epidemic. But that leaves a burning question: If metabolism isn't to blame, what is? And what can you do?
The spread of middle age is even more…
Source: www.newscientist.com
