Daughter and son-in-law went back to their parents’ home 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 how big his belly is, and he is not married yet. Over the past few years, I have gained more than ten kilograms.”
Aunt Wang said with a smile: “It’s rare to come back, why not eat more, it shows that you are in good health.”
“Then Not necessarily!” The daughter said, “Actually, people who eat less will live longer. Look at Dad, he’s over 60 this year, and he’s not fat at all, so he’s healthy.”
Auntie Wang He waved his hand, “I just think he’s thinner, he’s thinner than me. He keeps saying “Old thin, old thin”, I think it’s not good for him.”
Dad heard this. I’m not happy anymore, “You just don’t understand. Many studies have said that being too fat is easy to cause a lot of problems.” Is it better to be thinner? 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 this year, eClinicalMedicine, a sub-journal 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, not obese), 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.
In addition, the researchers assessed participants’ lipoproteins, metabolites, and markers of inflammation by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR). The results showed that the 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 study may mean: The average person can improve their health by adjusting their diet, restricting calorie intake, and “keeping their mouths”.
2. How much fat have Chinese people gained in the past 10 years?
In July 2021, a sub-journal of The Lancet, The Lancet-Regional Health (West Pacific), published a report by The First Affiliated to China Medical University An epidemiological survey study in China completed by the hospital’s research team. 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.
It was found that in the 10 years from 2007 to 2017, the Chinese became fatter and fatter. 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 central obesity rate increased from 25.9% to 35.4%; (Definition of central obesity: waist circumference ≥90 cm in men and ≥80 cm in women))
·In the general population, no overweight rate was 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.
Three, after the age of 60, this weight is the best
In addition to the problem of obesity in the elderly, there are also people The pursuit of “skinny with old age” thinks that it is healthier for the elderly to be thinner, but in fact, “thinning with age” also has health risks.
If the elderly are too thin, once malnutrition, it will affect the body’s resistance, prone to fatigue, chills and other symptoms, but also increase the risk of disease, may suffer from respiratory diseases, skin diseases and digestive tract diseases disease, etc. And being underweight increases the risk of osteoporosis and sarcopenia.
It can be seen that it is not good to be underweight or overweight. What is the best weight to maintain after the age of 60?
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 Department of Endocrinology, First Medical Center, Chinese People’s Liberation Army General Hospital believes that for the elderly, body mass index is recommended to be in the range of 20-24 On the upper side, a little 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 should be kept at 51.2-61.44 kg.
Fourth, drink 2 more water, eat 3 less food, and live longer
Think To live a long and healthy life, you need to eatPay more attention, you can drink 2 kinds of water and eat 3 kinds of food less, which is good for your health.
·Liangshui:
“Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents (2016)” advocates drinking boiled water and tea, “Chinese Elderly A study in the Medical Journal 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 points to pay attention to:
·Do not drink strong tea, and mainly use weak tea every day;
·Drink in moderation, about 10g of tea a day.
·The best time is in the morning, 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. 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:
Preserved food: Although marinated Preserved food has a unique flavor, but preserved food contains a lot of salt, and may produce nitrosamines and pathogenic bacteria that are harmful to human health. Eating it has the risk of causing problems such as high blood pressure, high uric acid, and stomach cancer. Therefore, it is recommended that the elderly should eat less pickled foods, such as sausages, salted fish, and pickles.
Fried foods: Fried foods are high in calories and are high-fat foods, which are prone to increase the risk of diseases such as obesity, high blood pressure, high blood lipids 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 aflatoxin, 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” suggests that changing dietary habits and eating healthy may increase 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: Increase consumption of vegetables, fruits, fish, whole grains, nuts and legumes, and reduce consumption of red meat, processed meat, refined grains and sugar-sweetened beverages intake.
Whether it is too fat or too thin, it is not good for the elderly. 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] By changing eating habits, life expectancy may be extended by 10 years, and it is too late to start at the age of 60! .Nutritionist Gu Zhongyi, 2022-03-07