Watch out: Obesity could creep up on you in old age

May 07, 2018

A diet rich in animal fats, processed sugars, foods and low in fibre points to obesity.

TIME TO CHECK OBESITY

HEALTH- When old age and obesity knock at your door at the same time, your days are numbered. The trouble is, aging is a natural process you cannot reverse, but you can reverse obesity, or even better prevent it.


Brian Muthabali, a doctor with Kairos Hospital in Mukono district notes: "Obesity is measured by Body Mass Index, that is, weight in kilogrammes divided by height in square metres. Anyone beyond 30 is considered obese."

Regarding prevalence, Lilian Nyanzi, a consultant nutritionist, says obesity among adults in Uganda is estimated to be 16% for women and 4% for men. In Kampala only, obesity is approximately 4.4%.  However, when it comes to the elderly, Nyanzi notes that more research is required to determine the overall prevalence of obesity among the elderly in Uganda specifically because it is not quite known. 

Eat right

Just like in children and adults, Nyanzi points out that obesity in elderly people is caused by various factors. For starters, is the type of diet. A diet rich in animal fats, processed sugars, foods and low in fibre points to obesity.

"Feeding on a diet rich in animal fats or saturated fats obtained from animal food sources such as beef, mutton, pork, ghee etc increases the possibility of an elderly person gaining excess body weight. This is because excess fats are stored by the body resulting into excessive weight gain and obesity," Nyanzi explains.

Consequently, elderly people should be fed on plant foods that are rich in unsaturated fats to prevent obesity because these vegetables are low in fat/ sugar content and also bring about a satiety effect to an individual, which lowers on excessive food intake.

"In the same way, feeding an elderly person on a diet rich in processed foods such as sausages, chaps, chips, chapattis, spaghettis and processed drinks such as energy drinks, sweetened drinks/ soft drinks, increases the risk of gaining excess body weight," says Nyanzi.

Additionally, social behaviors of elderly people could predispose them to overweight and obesity and these may include excessive alcohol intake, cigarette smoking. 

"Elderly people who drink alcohol are more prone to excessive weight gain and obesity compared to those who don`t. This is because alcohol is highly rich in sugars and energy," Nyanzi says.    

Feeding an elderly person on a diet rich in processed foods such as sausages, chaps and chips increases the risk of gaining excess body weight

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        
Sedentary lifestyle 

"Sedentary lifestyle is often associated with the elderly. This is because of reduced physical activity levels due to old age. It is worth noting that having a sedentary lifestyle increases the risk of weight gain because the body has not utilized the stored body fats from the diet consumed," Nyanzi warns. 

Elderly people are advised to engage in a form of physical activity to avoid excess weight gain and obesity. 

Retired US Army Lieutenant Colonel Bricks Diamond who holds a Master's Degree in Physical Education and Sports Science and runs Fitness for life Uganda, a military boot camp facility at Lugogo indoor stadium regards exercise as the therapy of the world, which everyone needs.

"It's like free medicine out there for everyone to take," he says.

Nonetheless, he says that one should not wait until 70 or 80 to start doing exercises. He advises that before taking on exercises, one should consult a physician.

Furthermore, he warns that in Uganda, only 1% of the gyms have qualified instructors and that those who want to embark on working out in gyms should first consult their physicians to know the type of exercises that fit their bodies. 

"Those unqualified gym instructors do not know much, often, their clients end up going to the gym okay and leaving sick. So you can't just throw an old man in there, they might ‘kill' him with the wrong exercises.

He continues that for those who may not be interested in going to the gym, simple activities like walking, taking the stairs, going shopping, are great exercise for the elderly because they need to take it slow.

"Do things that require you to walk. The first months are going to be tough but once the body gets it, it will adapt to it," the fitness guru explains.

He adds that he has a client aged 100 years and goes to the gym to workout out daily.

"I also have numerous clients in their 80s and 70s. They need a special program though, because they cannot do the same exercises as other clients," he says.


Consequences of obesity in old age

Obesity has been associated to may ailments i.e. high blood pressure because the fats in the body clog the arteries in the body. This eventually may result into other heart cardio vascular conditions like heart attacks.

Furthermore, obesity results into Type 2 diabetes mellitus in the elderly people because of the reduced production on insulin hormone by the body. Insulin is a hormone that helps in regulating the blood sugar levels. 

Obesity in the elderly can result into cancers, osteoarthritis (this affects the body joints) and obstructive/ noisy sleep known as sleep apnea among others.

However, Muthabali advises regular checkup for those who fear they are obese because some people may look fat yet they are not obese. 

 

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 Lilian Nyanzi, a consultant nutritionist, says elderly people should be fed on plant foods that are rich in unsaturated fats to prevent obesity

 

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