MIDDLE AGE SPREAD

Why is it acceptable for middle aged men (and women) to have big bellies. To lots of people it's ok and just a part of getting older.

Rubbish, there is no medical reason why the tummy should get any bigger as we get older. I listened to two women talking in the supermarket yesterday, about dieting. One of them said " ooh I can't get into that dieting thing, I get sat in front of my computer with my food and that's me settled for the day. This women was the size of a house - honestly. I am fattist and I make no bones about it. Unless someone has a medical reason for being overweight there is no excuse!

I remember working with a guy who was a big fit strapping rugby player and he once said he was looking forward to letting himself go and getting a big beer belly when he got older. What an aspiration!

The thing is, not only is it disgusting to look at, very uncool, very unattractive, and lots of other adjectives it suggests there are big problems going on in the digestive system, and elsewhere in the body AND so it's highly dangerous.

It's unhealthy because some of it is visceral fat which means it is located deeper in the body than ordinary fat and is laid down around the vital organs.

Here it can release harmful toxins that increase the risk of serious health problems such as heart disease and diabetes.

Waist to hip ratio has become popular - lots of medical on line sites have calculators that'll work it out for you. They divide the waist measurement by your hip measurement and give you the resulting figure. Check out :www.brianmac.co.uk

Current guidelines are .75 to .8 for women and .85 to .9 for men . Anything above these figures is too high, and something needs to be done.

It's a more accurate health measurement than BMI.

To prevent 'middle aged spread' the government guidelines are to exercise five times a week for 30 minutes. Not alot that, and actually if you're working hard enough in your session you don't need to even do this (see a personal trainer - ie me! for guidelines on intensity) . How many people in this country are doing the minimum recommended amount each week? Very very few.

In addition to exercise eating right for your body types is KEY, so key I can;t emphasise it enough. See all my previous blogs on METABOLIC TYPING or contact me for more information. We're all different on the outside and so we're very different on the inside and require different foods for optimum energy and health benefits.

TODAY'S TIP : take a long hard look at your diet and exercise regime. Does it stand up to scrutiny? If not and your waist measurement is too high, start today and do something about it. RX