{"id":7604,"date":"2018-11-30T08:13:03","date_gmt":"2018-11-30T08:13:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trifocusfitnessacademy.co.za\/?p=7604"},"modified":"2022-08-18T11:13:50","modified_gmt":"2022-08-18T09:13:50","slug":"how-do-our-metabolic-systems-change-as-we-get-older","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trifocusfitnessacademy.co.za\/personal-fitness-training-blog\/how-do-our-metabolic-systems-change-as-we-get-older\/","title":{"rendered":"How do our Metabolic Systems Change as we Get Older?"},"content":{"rendered":"

That old saying \u2013 which goes something like: \u201cI\u2019m not as young as I used to be\u201d \u2013 has truth attached to it. As we age, our vital organs, bones and joints become older. Medical experts have shown, in their research, that the composition of a human body changes, as do our metabolic systems, as it ages. Why is this so? Read on to find out.<\/p>\n

Why our metabolic systems change as we grow older<\/h2>\n

In a study conducted by Drs St-Onge and Gallagher it was found that, as a person grows older, the fat content in their body grows while \u2013 at the same time \u2013 the amount of muscle decreases.\u00a0 As we know<\/a>, the more lean muscle you have in your body the greater is your ability to burn fat even when at rest. This means that you should be building more lean muscle in your younger years to make up for the muscle loss you will experience in your later years.<\/p>\n

How you can counteract this muscle loss<\/strong><\/h2>\n

At the moment there are no proven methods of counteracting ageing and the resultant muscle loss. However, what you can do \u2013 right now \u2013 is to take a number of precautions so that you won\u2019t be caught short in your later years regarding age-related diseases.<\/p>\n

Ensure that you take in enough calcium<\/em><\/h3>\n

Calcium has been proven to have beneficial qualities in terms of keeping your bones and teeth strong. As you age, your bones become brittle and you become at risk for bone diseases such as osteoporosis and the like.<\/p>\n

Remember that vitamin D is essential for the correct absorption and processing of calcium. This means that if you want to reap the full benefit of the calcium that you\u2019re taking in you need to make sure that you are taking in enough vitamin D through either sunlight or supplements.<\/p>\n

\"Trifocus<\/p>\n

Perform weight-bearing exercises<\/em><\/h3>\n

Another method of counteracting the detrimental signs of ageing is to perform weight-bearing exercises.\u00a0 By this, we don\u2019t mean that you need to start taking up weight-lifting \u2013 nothing of the sort!<\/p>\n

All we mean is that you should be performing exercises that use your body weight as a means of resistance. For example, a great low-impact exercise such as this is water aerobics. It uses your body weight \u2013 in conjunction with the resistance that the water provides \u2013 to give you a great workout.<\/p>\n

Another fantastic example of an exercise which is extremely beneficial for elderly people is Pilates. This is because it is a weight-bearing exercise, which uses your body weight for the exercises, but involves no strain on your joints. This makes Pilates a great exercise for people who suffer from diseases of the joints such as arthritis.<\/p>\n

Eat the right foods<\/em><\/h3>\n

In our recent post \u2013 entitled What Foods Should Older Adults Eat<\/em><\/a> \u2013 we gave a few hints and tips about what older people should eat. Here\u2019s a summary of what we advised:<\/p>\n