The relationship between lifespan and body weight has been discovered! After the age of 60, this weight is just right, are you up to the mark?

Aunt Li is 58 years old this year. She usually pays more attention to physical maintenance, so she looks very young among her peers.

Some time ago, Aunt Li discovered that the fleshy flesh that she was desperately trying to lose, suddenly went down on her own, and her weight continued to drop, and she felt a lot more beautiful.

But it didn't take long for Auntie Li to realize that something was wrong. She obviously didn't control her diet, and she ate a lot, but her weight kept dropping. After that, everyone lost weight.

The children hurriedly took her to the hospital for a check-up. When it turned out to be liver cancer, Auntie Li was stunned when she heard the news, and then burst into tears in the hospital corridor with the checklist.

1. Getting old and thin is not the same as "oldness and longevity"!

In the eyes of many elderly people, "a thousand dollars can't buy the old and thin". At the same time, in order to control the third and higher chronic diseases, they will choose to eat vegetarian food to maintain their weight, but is "old and thin" really healthier?

In fact, it is not good for the elderly to be too thin. They may be accompanied by symptoms such as low immunity, easy fatigue, and poor spleen and stomach. If the elderly want to live a long life, it is very important to have some muscles on their bodies. If you find that your limbs are slender and there is fat on your stomach, you must be alert to sarcopenia.

Sarcopenia is a progressive syndrome of decreased muscle mass, decreased muscle strength, and decreased muscle function.

Generally, symptoms such as easy falling, slow gait, weakness, slender limbs, and physical weakness will appear. Once the elderly suffer from sarcopenia, their coping ability will be very poor, and they are likely to face consequences such as falls, fractures, muscle atrophy, and shortened life expectancy .

And older people, with the right amount of muscle, can reap these benefits:

1. Reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease

According to research, people with high skeletal muscle mass in middle age have an 81% lower risk of being targeted by cardiovascular disease than those with the lowest skeletal muscle mass, and are also less likely to develop obesity, high blood pressure, and diabetes.

2. Reduced risk of death

A study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that just half an hour to an hour of muscle strengthening a week can greatly reduce the risk of death.

3. Prevent fractures

Muscle strength training is very effective for protecting bones and preventing fractures.

4. Fight disease

The Lancet study found that cancer patients with low muscle mass had more complications, longer hospital stays and lower survival rates.

2. Lifespan is related to body weight. How much longer life is after the age of 60?

The thinner the better or the fatter the better? First of all, it is certain that life expectancy is related to weight, so how much weight will you live longer after the age of 60?

A research team in the United States conducted a follow-up survey of 4,576 respondents for 73 years and found that the people with the longest life expectancy have two characteristics: they are neither fat nor thin when they are young, and they are not thin or slightly fat when they are old .

The healthiest and most long-lived body mass index of the elderly should be between 25-29. The specific algorithm is weight divided by the square of height .

Similarly, Shi Xiaoming's team at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention found that for the elderly, the best BMI may be mild obesity or overweight.

That is to say, after the age of 60, slightly overweight elderly people may live longer, so why?

Experts pointed out that with the increase of age, the function of the human body will continue to decline, the aging speed of skeletal muscle will accelerate, and the relative immunity of the slightly overweight elderly may be stronger .

For the elderly, being slightly fat is an ideal state, but it is generally in a relatively stable state. If you become fat and thin, it is likely to be an early warning of a disease, and it must be paid attention to.

3. After the age of 60, 3 kinds of nutrients should be supplemented more

The elderly have a decline in metabolism, physical activity, digestive function, diet, etc. It can be said that the elderly are a high-risk group of malnutrition. For the elderly after the age of 60, what nutrients should be supplemented to prevent it? ?

1. Protein

With the decline of metabolic capacity, the ability of the elderly to utilize protein will also decrease, and even protein deficiency will occur. It is necessary for the elderly to supplement protein to enhance immunity, improve sleep quality, and improve cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. The "Reference Intake Table of Dietary Nutrients for Chinese Residents" points out that elderly men are recommended to consume 65 grams of protein per day, and elderly women should consume 22 grams of protein. Foods such as chicken, shrimp, soy products, and fish are rich in protein.

2. Dietary fiber

Appropriate supplementation of dietary fiber can promote the peristalsis of the gastrointestinal tract, improve the intestinal environment, prevent and relieve symptoms such as constipation, and it is recommended to consume 20-25 grams per day.

3. Vitamin D

The intake of vitamin D is also essential, and deficiency may cause sarcopenia, which can be supplemented by eating liver, cod liver oil, egg yolks and other foods.

In addition to nutritional supplements, proper exercise is also indispensable, but you should pay attention to choosing the exercise intensity that suits you.

The elderly should not blindly pursue thinness. If they are too thin, their immunity may not be high, and they should also be alert to sarcopenia. The elderly after the age of 60, slightly fat is the healthiest state, suddenly fat or suddenly thin, it may be an early warning of disease.

Older people are easily targeted by malnutrition, so we must pay attention to supplementing protein, dietary fiber, vitamin D and proper exercise.

References:

[1] "The elderly are too thin, beware of "sarcopenia"! How to eat to prevent? 》.Medical Neurology Channel.2019-08-02

[2] "Stop losing weight blindly! It took scientists 73 years to discover: "Slightly fat" people live longer! ". Health Times. 2021-11-17

[3] "[Xiehe Popular Science] It is very important for the elderly to be malnourished and protein supplementation is very important". Fu Medical Association. 2022-09-02

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