Are people getting fatter? Reminder: Lifespan may be related to weight, and this weight is better after the age of 60
The daughter and son-in-law went back to their parents' house together. At the dining table, Auntie Wang's family was happy, chatting and laughing.
The daughter watched her son-in-law add the third bowl of rice, and couldn't help but complain, "I told him to eat less, eat less, but he doesn't want to, look at how big his belly is, he's been married for a few years, and he has gained a dozen pounds. catty."
Auntie Wang smiled and said, "It's rare to come back, why not eat more, it shows that you are in good health."
"That's not necessarily true!" said the daughter. "Actually, people who eat less will live longer. Look at Dad, this year, he is over sixty and not fat at all. That's healthy."
Auntie Wang waved her hand, "I just think he's thinner, thinner than me. He always says, "Old and thin," I think it's not good for him."
Dad was unhappy when he heard it, "You just don't understand, right? A lot of studies have said that being too fat can easily cause a lot of problems."
Auntie Wang doesn't speak anymore. It's better to be really thin? Is lifespan related to weight? After the age of 60, what is the best weight?
1. Eat a little less each time, save health from your mouth
In January, eClinicalMedicine, a subsidiary of The Lancet Discovery Science, published a research paper on the effects of dietary calorie restriction on metabolic health in non-obese adults .
The study consisted of 218 participants, aged 21-50 years, of normal weight (BMI 22.0-27.9, no obesity), and in good health. The study found that after 12 and 24 months, the participants' weight loss, insulin resistance, and risk of type 2 diabetes improved after 12 percent of their dietary calorie restriction.
Additionally, the researchers assessed participants' lipoproteins, metabolites, and markers of inflammation by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR). The results showed that new molecular biomarkers such as the pro-atherosclerotic apolipoprotein ApoB, the composite inflammatory marker GlycA, the lipoprotein insulin resistance index LP-IR and the diabetes risk index DRI were all reduced. Moreover, this improvement was more pronounced in overweight than normal-weight subjects, and more pronounced in men than in women.
This research may mean that ordinary people can improve their health by adjusting their diet, restricting calorie intake, and "keeping their mouths".
2. How much fat have the Chinese people gained in the past 10 years?
In July 2021, an epidemiological survey study in China completed by a research team from the First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University was published in The Lancet-Regional Health (West Pacific), a subsidiary of The Lancet. In this study, the changes in obesity among Chinese adults in the past 10 years were more accurately and comprehensively reflected.
The study included 45,956 and 72,824 individuals over the age of 20 who had lived locally for at least 5 years and were not pregnant from two national surveys in 2007 and 2017, respectively.
The results found that in the 10 years from 2007 to 2017, Chinese people became more and more fat . And except for people over 70 years old, regardless of gender or age group, waist circumference has increased significantly, with an average of about 2.5 cm.
The overall obesity rate in China increased from 31.9% to 37.2% (overall obesity definition: BMI ≥ 25)
·The rate of central obesity increased from 25.9% to 35.4%; (Definition of central obesity: waist circumference ≥ 90 cm for men and ≥ 80 cm for women))
• In the general population, no rates of overweight were observed. (Definition of overweight: 23≤body mass index (BMI) <25)
If you don't pay attention to your weight every day, many diseases will come to you.
Obesity is one of the carcinogenic factors. The International Agency for Research on Cancer has pointed out that excess body fat is closely related to 13 types of cancer, including gastric cancer, kidney cancer, liver cancer, thyroid cancer, uterine cancer, ovarian cancer, etc.
In addition, obesity is also associated with a variety of diseases, including hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, fatty liver, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, cognitive dysfunction and so on. Therefore, weight management is important, especially in older adults.
3. After the age of 60, this weight is the best
In addition to the problem of obesity in the elderly, there are also people who pursue "old to thin", thinking that it is healthier for the elderly to be thin, but in fact, "old to thin" also has health risks.
If the elderly are too thin, once malnutrition, it will affect the body's resistance, prone to symptoms such as fatigue and chills, and increase the risk of disease, such as respiratory diseases, skin diseases and digestive tract diseases. And being underweight increases the risk of osteoporosis and sarcopenia.
It can be seen that it is not good to be underweight or overweight. After the age of 60, what is the best weight to maintain?
A foreign study that followed up for 70 years to observe the relationship between life expectancy and body weight found that people with longevity are generally neither fat nor thin, or even slightly fat.
Generally speaking, a body mass index between 18.5 and 24 is a standard weight, less than 18.4 is underweight, greater than 24 is overweight, and greater than 28 is obese.
Gu Weijun, chief physician of the Endocrinology Department of the First Medical Center of the Chinese People's Liberation Army General Hospital , believes that for the elderly, it is recommended that the body mass index should be in the range of 20-24 and be slightly fatter. Body mass index = weight (kg) ÷ height (m) squared, taking an elderly person with a height of 1.6 meters as an example, the weight is best kept at 51.2-61.44 kg.
Fourth, drink 2 more water, eat 3 less food, and raise your life expectancy
If you want to live a long and healthy life, you need to pay more attention to your diet. You can drink 2 kinds of water and eat 3 kinds of food less, which is good for your health.
·Two waters:
"Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents (2016)" advocates drinking boiled water and tea . A study in "Chinese Journal of Geriatrics" pointed out that drinking tea is beneficial for adjusting the metabolism of the elderly, reducing the risk of hypertension and improving dyslipidemia. But there are a few things to note:
·Do not drink strong tea, but mainly light tea every day;
·Drink in moderation, about 10g of tea a day.
·Morning is best, try to avoid drinking tea in the afternoon or close to the evening, so as not to cause excitement, polyuria, sleep, etc. and affect the quality of sleep.
In addition, most elderly people are slow to respond to thirst and often drink water only when they are thirsty.Actively drink water, and in small amounts . Among them , warm boiled water is the best choice. It is recommended that the elderly should drink no less than 1200 ml of warm boiled water every day (about 5 cups of water).
·Three things:
Pickled foods: Although pickled foods have a unique flavor, pickled foods contain a lot of salt, and may produce nitrosamines and pathogenic bacteria that are harmful to human health. Eating them can cause high blood pressure, high uric acid, stomach cancer, etc. risk of problems. Therefore, it is recommended that the elderly should eat less pickled foods, such as sausages, salted fish, and pickles.
Fried food: Fried food is high in calories and is a high-fat food, which is easy to increase the risk of diseases such as obesity, high blood pressure, high blood fat and diabetes. In addition, the carcinogen acrylamide may be produced in the process of high temperature frying, which is harmful to health.
Moldy food: Moldy food may contain a large amount of aflatoxins, which can cause food poisoning in mild cases and cancer in severe cases. Therefore, once you find that the food is moldy, do not eat it, even if the moldy part is cut off, it may be toxic and carcinogenic.
In addition, a study published in "PLoS Medicine" pointed out that changing dietary habits and eating a healthy diet may extend lifespan. And the earlier a healthy diet is implemented, the greater the benefits. Even if you start changing to a healthy eating pattern at the age of 60, women's life expectancy can increase by about 8 years, and men can increase by about 8.8 years.
A healthy diet was defined in the study as: increasing the intake of vegetables, fruits, fish, whole grains, nuts and legumes and reducing the intake of red meat, processed meat, refined grains and sugar-sweetened beverages.
Whether it is too fat or too thin, it does not affect the elderly well. Therefore, it is recommended that the elderly must maintain their body, combine diet and exercise, and control the body mass index to a little above 20-24. Usually, they should pay attention to a balanced diet, a variety of food, eat more vegetables and fruits, drink more water, and less Eat red meat, fried, preserved and processed foods.
References:
[1] Eat a little less each time, because life is saved from the mouth! .Health Times, 2022-03-18
[2] The Lancet sub-issue: How much have the Chinese people's weight and blood pressure increased in the past 10 years? Young people beware! .China Medical Tribune, 2022-01-16
[3] If you change your eating habits, your lifespan may be extended by 10 years, and it is too late to start at the age of 60! .Nutritionist Gu Zhongyi, 2022-03-07
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