Why Belly Fat Is Harder to Lose After 40

After age 40, many people say that they eat about the same as before, but their waist keeps growing. It is not your imagination. The middle-aged body really does change how it uses energy and stores fat.

What changes in the body

• Muscle shrinks. Muscle is tissue that uses energy even at rest. As muscle mass declines with age, there is surplus energy even if you eat the same amount.
• Activity drops. Changes in work and lifestyle mean more time spent sitting.
• Fat is stored in different places. Women in particular tend to store more fat in the abdomen than in the hips and thighs after menopause.
• Sleep gets shorter and lighter. Lack of sleep also affects appetite and metabolic regulation.

A tape measure rather than a scale

Fat that builds up in the belly shows up in your waist circumference before your weight. By Korean criteria, a waist circumference of 90 cm or more for men and 85 cm or more for women is abdominal obesity, which is also a diagnostic criterion for metabolic syndrome. Use the BMI and waist circumference calculator to see where you stand now.

Management methods with confirmed effects

• Strength training 2–3 times a week — The surest way to protect the muscle you are losing.
• At least 150 minutes of aerobic exercise a week — You can reach it with 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week.
• Lose 5–10% of your body weight — Several clinical guidelines commonly recommend this, because even this much loss improves metabolic markers.
• Include protein at every meal, and cut back on refined carbohydrates and alcohol.

To learn which ingredient Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) has recognized for a function related to body fat, and on what evidence, see the Cornus extract complex (Cornus officinalis fruit + Ribes fasciculatum leaf) entry.