The Importance Of Maintaining A Healthy Weight For Seniors

Senior Living Facilities

There are many factors that can affect the weight of a person, including his/her genes, gender, family habits, age, sleep, etc. Some of these factors can make it really hard to ensure a healthy weight, and this is especially true in the case of seniors. Regardless, following a healthy diet plan and regular exercise can help maintain your body as healthy as possible as you age. Experts in assisted living and other senior living facilities explain why weight may change as you get older, and why it is very important to ensure a healthy body weight.

Reason Behind Weight Change As We Age

With age, changes happen to our metabolism rate. This means that some seniors should become more active or consume lesser calories to ensure ideal body weight. Unintentional weight loss can also occur in some older adults. This can occur when you forget to eat food, have difficulty leaving the house, or have less appetite.

Importance Of Maintaining Healthy Weight For Elderly

It is a part of healthy aging to keep your weight in the normal range. Like in all other stages of life, increased body mass index in seniors can shoot up the chances of health issues. Some of these health issues include elevated blood pressure, diabetes, stroke, etc.

Being underweight is also not good for your health as it can boost your chances of developing health issues. People with a low body mass index are likely to develop medical issues like anemia and osteoporosis. In addition, it will be harder for a person with a low BMI to recover from an infection or an illness. Therefore, you need to maintain a healthy weight to ensure your well-being.

Final Thoughts

For adults in every weight range, aging is linked to muscle loss, which can make it difficult to do some activities. It is important for older adults to be active as it can help maintain muscle mass and make it easy to perform activities of daily living, take part in outings, avoid falls, drive and stay independent. This does not mean that you should join a gym to keep yourself fit. You can choose physical activities that you enjoy, like running, jogging, walking, cycling, dancing, etc.

You need to stay motivated while getting started with regular exercise. You may then add some other fun activity to your exercise regimen. However, discuss with your doctor before you add a vigorous activity to your exercise session.