bodyfat percentages

Question
I am a 55 year old man. On those bodyfat percentage scales I see on the internet, can you tell me why it is OK? to have higher levels of bodyfat, the older you get? I went to bodyfat percentages on Google and compared 6 different charts on 6 different sites. Most were exactly the same numbers. Thanks for the time.

Answer
Hi Tim,

You raise a really great question - one that health professionals have long disagreed on.

Many things in medicine are based on averages or "normals."  Over the decades, as we have gathered date on age, weight and body fat (mostly through life insurance data), it has been observed that "normally" body fat percentage increases and percent lean body mass decreases as people age.  

Does it need to be that way?  Is it healthy?  Probably not on both counts, but it is harder to maintain as we age so the observed normal - what these charts are based on - reflects what we see in the population.

One day, this may change.  It is my hope that as our awareness of health increases that we set higher standards for normal and acceptable.  We have done this in some areas like cholesterol, blood pressure and bone mass.  For example, it used to be assumed - not all that long ago - that it was "normal" for blood pressures to rise fairly significantly with age.  We now know that this is not normal or healthy and we work hard to keep those levels down.

So, I agree - you have found one of the flaws in the way we think about body weight - in this case as it relates to age.  It would be great to see a future where it was widely acknowledged that if people can maintain a health level of lean mass and a lower level of body fat as they grow older that this will equate to health and longevity.  Let's hope for it!

I hope this has helped to answer.

In Health,

Dr. Jacques

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