As we get older, we tend to gain weight — and not just because we’re less active. Instead, we lose muscle mass as we age, which lowers our body’s resting metabolic rate, Lauren Blake, a dietitian at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, told Fox News. (The lower our body’s resting metabolic rate, the fewer calories our body burns at rest.)
Where the weight goes
Age doesn’t just pack on the pounds — it changes where those pounds go. The culprit? Sex hormones. As these decrease over time, men and women’s weights tend to shift in predictable ways.
For men, that means more belly fat as they lose testosterone, Blake said. Men’s testosterone levels start to gradually decrease after about age 30.
For women, the change is later but much more sudden. Right before menopause, typically in a woman’s 40s or early 50s, her estrogen levels begin to wane, Blake said. Fat deposits then tend to move toward the hip, thighs, and buttocks, though Blake pointed out that everyone is different.