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Losing Weight Over Fifty - Page 3

© Robert M. Oliva

In the recent Framingham longevity study of centenarians, it was found that of all the long-lived people studied not one of them was overweight. All of the subjects of the study were lean and normal or lower than normal in body weight. Their heavier or obese peers had long since passed away. Watching our weight is a key to living a long and happy life. The older we get the fewer heavy or overweight family and friends will there be to enjoy.

6 - Sex

Another reason to keep your weight down is that it can have a favorable affect on your sex life. Researchers have found that people who feel good about their bodies tend to have more enjoyable sex.

Ronette Kolotkin, Ph.D. from Duke University, conducted a series of studies that looked at the relationship between body weight and life satisfaction. In one study, sixty-four people, all overweight, entered the Duke University weight-loss program. At the beginning of the program they were asked six questions about their sex life. Most of the respondents made statements indicating unhappiness or discontent with their bodies and their enjoyment of sex.

A month after starting the study and losing an average of 8 - 30 pounds the participants were asked the same questions. They answered much more positively. According to Dr. Kolotkin: "What's interesting...is that someone answering the questions might have lost 20 pounds and still have had 20 or 50 to go. So the point is, you don't have to lose all your excess weight in order to have a quality of life improvement--including your sex life."

Conclusion

I hope that some of these facts will motivate you to consider losing weight. Staying lean and trim cannot be overestimated as a factor in maintaining health and extending fruitful living in later years. It may take significant effort but being trim is worth it. It will help you to continue enjoying those you love and the activities you find satisfying. Of course, being of normal weight is not a guarantee of long life. But it betters the odds.

A Note on Body Type

One last comment, many of us are not built to be svelte. Our genetic makeup may not allow for low body weight. For that reason, nothing I have said in this article should be construed as an endorsement of any specific physical appearance. We all must work with what is natural for us. There is no one body weight or body appearance that must be embraced over others. We all have a body and an appearance that is natural to us. We must discover what that is and work to allow that natural form to emerge from within us. Trying to be what we are not will only lead to unhappiness and ill health. Thin may be in but what that means for each of us may vary considerably.

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