Increased body fat is always manifested by weight gain, but this does not mean that all people who weigh more than what is considered normal to be obese. To find anthropometric indicators have been established as weight, height, thickness of skin folds and circumferences (waist and hip).

However, body mass index (BMI) is a medical tool that determines how much a person has exceeded the reserves of energy as fat. For BMI, divide the number of its weight in kilograms by the result of his height squared, if the shunt is less than 24.9 kg/m2 your weight is normal, if it goes from 25 to 29.9 kg/m2 means overweight. On the other hand, obesity is defined in three classes: the first corresponds to a BMI between 30 and 34.9 kg/m2, second, or risk, 35 to 39.9 kg/m2 and the latter in the sounding the alarm of danger, the index exceeds 40.

Take the following example: a person whose height is 1.70 m tall and weighs 85 kg has a BMI of 29, ie 85 kg / 1.70 x 1.70 = 85 / 2.89 = 29.4

However, most adults tend to become overweight and fat storage over time, mainly because a sedentary lifestyle (lack of exercise) becomes more common and there is no way to remove excess accumulated. Thus it is not uncommon in people over 65 years, BMI is between 24 and 29, although it is low risk to health.

It is very important to consider when they assess the adverse effects to consider both the magnitude and distribution of fat. Thus, obesity with a BMI above 30, with a distribution of body fat in the stomach (it is recognized as android) may promote diabetes, high cholesterol, gout, hypertension and heart disease, more common in men; but when the distribution is genecoide (on the buttocks, thighs and legs), which occurs in women more often, does not cause many problems, but has a negative impact on both joints as spine, knees and ankles.

Risks in them

One of the main reasons why women gain weight mature is the reduction in the generation of sex hormones after menopause (last menstruation), and that this alters the mechanism to regulate the distribution of adipose tissue and the proportion between muscles and fat. To this we must add that the body it is much more difficult to metabolize lipids and lipoproteins as before, ie, assimilation, utilization and disposal of fats, leading to overweight.

As noted above, the risks of problems are focused on women’s bone apparatus, but also affected others, the most important:

Osteoarthritis. Degenerative disease characterized by wasting or destruction of cartilage and deformation of the surface of the bone of one or more joints. In general, aging and overload cause the cartilage to wear out, so the joint loses its natural cushioning system and bone deformities undergo small manifested through pain and limited movement, which affects mostly weight-bearing joints or who have excessive movement, such as hips (especially in groin and inner thigh region), knee (on the inside) or feet.

Osteoporosis. Skeletal disease characterized by reduced bone mineral density (calcium and collagen) due to imbalance in the cycle of bone reconstruction (less formed bone tissue is destroyed), which causes bones to become porous , thin and fragile, therefore, susceptible to fracture at the slightest effort or not. This disorder is very common in the elderly, and affects mostly postmenopausal women due to lack of estrogen, hormones that the body stops producing when you have the last menstruation.

What about them?

The older men tend to increase in heart disease from the accumulation of fat, hence we can talk about problems like high cholesterol, fatty compounds that our body gets from two aspects: one, food and other, which produces the body itself.

Cholesterol is required to carry out many functions, such as hormones, assist in the formation of bile and vitamin D, and maintain the body’s cellular structure. However, when levels are elevated in the blood of the compound health problems arise, the main:

Atherosclerosis. Cholesterol tends to accumulate on the walls of the arteries, which is added to remaining muscle and blood cells and calcium, resulting in a plate called atheroma, which reach a size that obstructs blood flow causes this condition, the which usually occurs in the coronary arteries (which carry blood to the heart muscle) in the aorta (the largest in the body), and in the brain and limbs, especially thighs and legs.

When atherosclerotic plaque partially or completely cover the arteries, causing reduced or total lack of blood flow, which causes the organs do not receive enough oxygen to work or do not have it at all (complete occlusion), resulting in the death of cells. The latter is what is called stroke and, as is known, can occur anywhere in the body where the blood stops circulating. Thus, infarction occurs in heart, brain, eyes, intestines and legs.

Moreover, it is noteworthy that there are other conditions that are common to men and women for the overweight, among which we mention:

Drop. As part of the daily renewal of the cells that make up our body discards each day a compound called uric acid that is naturally excreted in the urine, but when this happens, it accumulates in the blood and is deposited slowly joints, as crystals, causing inflammation and severe pain. Among the causes of uric acid is not removed properly can include obesity and diabetes, diseases that cause malfunction of the kidneys, leading to accumulation and determines the appearance of stones (rocks formed by mineral salts and discarded) .

Hypertension. High blood pressure affects one third of people over 60 years, this disease is that the smaller blood lines narrow, or, the arteries lose their elasticity, which forces the heart to pump harder to supply blood to all organs. A major cause is the accumulation of fat in blood vessels, constant situations of stress and distress, kidney ailments and diabetes, sedentary lifestyle (with very little physical exercise), eating too much salt, snuff and alcohol.

Diabetes mellitus. Diabetes is a syndrome characterized by excessive accumulation of glucose in the blood due to a deterioration in all or part of the secretion and action of the hormone insulin, produced by the pancreas and responsible for maintaining normal blood sugar levels. If left unchecked can lead to complications such as blindness, renal and vascular damage and leg amputations.

There are two types: the first develops in people where insulin production is low or zero. Most patients with this condition develop it before age 30.

In contrast, type 2 or mellitus occurs when the pancreas continues to produce insulin but the body develops resistance to its effects. Usually this type of diabetes usually appears after age 30.

Cancer. Quite simply, this condition can be explained as a failure in the mechanism that regulates the development of cells that are found throughout our body, made to appear that causes some of them to grow without altering their genetic control, being Thus the most likely to develop cancer. One of the factors that can accelerate the accumulation of fat in the body as well as pollutants, viruses and ultraviolet radiation from sunlight.

Actions to be taken

Although the elderly require special care naturally, particular care must be taken when there are obese or overweight, so attention to the following precautions:

TRH. It is not uncommon for many menopausal women undergoing hormone replacement therapy, ie artificially receiving estrogen your body no longer produces, among other benefits helps to prevent weight gain, however, receive hormones is a matter of discussion the scientific community, being associated with cases in which women develop cancer. This is all to consult a gynecologist about risks and benefits administration.

Exercise. To occur in the body increased energy expenditure is necessary to promote exercise. With this, it will increase muscle definition, improve insulin sensitivity and decrease cholesterol levels. The walk, for example, is excellent sport, and you do not need physical condition and accessories.

Eating and chewing. Chew slowly lets shred food into a bolus perfectly palatable, if not, the organs involved in digestion working overtime, generating indigestion, stomach pain, gas emissions and improper metabolism of fats.

Food. Perhaps the main point of which result from many problems, hence the need to pay attention to:

- Eat little but often, a well-distributed power can lose excess fat, while only one meal a day promotes fat storage.
- Drink 2 liters of water a day to rehydrate the skin and digestive tract.
- Avoid salt, because it facilitates the formation of atheromas (small balls or lumps of fat on artery walls). Instead, try to add garlic to your meals, it prevents the formation of atheromas (like grapefruit) and promotes good blood circulation.
- Say goodbye to the snacks and replace them with fruit or vegetables (jicama, cucumbers, carrots, etc.), As no fat and suppresses appetite.
- Compare the calories, protein, fat and sugar in everything you eat and seek to balance their food. Make simple evaluation on our tables essential food groups, minerals, vitamins and proteins (located in section diagrams, the left side of the screen).
- Use olive oil for cooking and seasoning, as this product reduces the concentration of harmful cholesterol, while increasing the so-called good.
- Eat in moderation tortilla, bread made with refined flour (replace bread in small quantities), sweets and alcohol.

Beyond the question of aesthetics, which for many people a lot of weight, obesity should be treated in the elderly, as this would be winning in health have no doubt about it.

credit to: Raul Serrano

Medical treatment is most commonly prescribed hormone replacement therapy. Prescribed estrogen with or without progestins, at low doses with the idea of recovering the lost endogenous hormone levels with menopause or after surgery in which the ovaries have been removed. Other treatments include calcitonin, bisphosphonates, vitamin D and PTH.

The best treatment for osteoporosis is prevention. An adequate intake of calcium and physical activity during adolescence and youth, may increase the peak bone mass, resulting in reduced bone loss and lower fracture risk in later years. Adequate intake of calcium and vitamins during maturation is essential for bone health.

In cases of early menopause, women should take estrogen to prevent post-menopausal loss of bone is due to add a progestogen if uterus is intact.

Estrogen replacement therapy is effective in preventing post-menopausal loss of bone and is also effective in preventing osteoporotic fractures. Hormone replacement therapy requires close monitoring and careful gynecologic patient selection.

Post-menopausal women with low bone mass or osteoporosis and have established contraindication to hormone replacement therapy, bisphosphonates (alendronate or etidronate) and calcitonin are effective medications to prevent bone loss.

Walking and stretching exercises of the spine may stabilize or even slightly increase bone mass and improve balance and muscle strength, preventing falls and fractures.

Vertebral fractures should be treated initially with rest, analgesics, lumbostato and rehabilitation. Other possible treatments being studied include vitamin D, fluoride and parathyroid hormone.

The debate centers on the possibility that this type of food results in a lower bone mass, as some studies, compared to other investigations that have found no statistical significance in this relationship.

The issue concerned because BMD is the strongest and most consistent predictor of fractures associated with osteoporosis.

In Western countries, a considerable proportion of the population has adopted a vegetarian diet that includes foods not found in traditional diets as the best for the formation and growth of bones.

The quality and quantity of ingested nutrients (calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, vitamin D, A, K) and the consumption of other dietary elements that promote or hinder the absorption of minerals that nourish the bone, have a significant imprint on health marrow.

These factors add up to each individual’s genetic predisposition to develop bone disorders.

The latest review on the possible association between diet and bone mineral density, a controversial issue, is a meta-analysis conducted by the Bone and Mineral Research Program Garvan Institute of Medical Research, picked up this October in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

One in two women and one in four men over age 50 will suffer a bone fracture due to osteoporosis

A quarter of people who break a hip die within the first anniversary of the injury. A study of the Spanish Society of Orthopedics and Traumatology warns that one in two women and one in four men over age 50 will suffer a bone fracture due to osteoporosis. The broken bone is the result “more serious” of this disease as “one of every four people who fracture a hip die before the year,” said study coordinator, Dr. Manuel Mesa Ramos.

The researchers stressed the importance of preventing a disorder that affects a majority of females from menopause. Once menstruation is lost, it creates a deficit in the production of estrogen or female hormones that, among other functions, has a mission to fix calcium to the bones. This explains why the patient type of osteoporosis is a woman who is over 60 years and goes to the consultation because it hurts his back, in the area of the dorsal vertebrae, the height of the blades, detailed the department head of Orthopedic Surgery Chiron and Traumatology Hospital of Bilbao, Inaki Mínguez.

The first step is usually medical X-rays to analyze whether the cause of pain is poor bone health, due to loss of density. If radiological evidence confirms the suspicion, it is recommended to the patient an active life, including the practice of sport is not aggressive, a balanced diet that is reinforced with calcium-based treatments, and sunbathing for calcium is set at bones due to vitamin D.

“For some women, bone demineralization occurs at a high tempo from the menopause, which usually takes place in around 51 years,” said the head of department for Gynecology and Assisted Reproduction in the same clinic, Dr. Barrenetxea Gorka. Although most bone fragility is linked directly with the production of estrogen deficiency, other risk factors. The first is the excessive thinness. Without actually being overweight, body mass protects against osteoporosis, said Barrenetxea. Smoking is another point against it. “Smokers suffer more osteoporosis,” said the doctor, who also recommended practice moderate exercise. The alcohol abuse is also a negative factor, he added.

Importance of food

“Food is fundamental, but throughout life,” said Inigo Sainz-Arregui, a physician specializing in Nutrition and Family Medicine. “Consuming adequate amounts of calcium is shown to protect against osteoporosis,” he said. Although the peak bone mass is determined by genetics, the density is related to calcium intake during the period of bone accumulation, which occurs from birth to 25 or 30 years. It is therefore important to ensure adequate intake of calcium to avoid risks, said Sainz-Arregui.

Calcium not only found in dairy products like milk, yogurt or cheese, but also green leafy vegetables like cabbage, spinach or watercress. Furthermore, it should consume vitamin D rich foods like fish, eggs and fortified cereals and dairy products to help calcium absorption. Phosphorus fish, eggs, vegetables, meat and cereals also plays an important role in bone health. “In short, a varied and balanced diet with little salt and accompanied by physical exercise is the best option,” summarized the nutritionist.