Top 3 Reasons Why Your Body Changes As You Age

Okay, you must have felt totally bummed out when you noticed the first few strands of grey hair, right? Also, the very first sight of wrinkles or fine lines on your face must’ve left you baffled! At least, these are the changes you anticipated. You were aware of them since you hit the teenage button. You knew you couldn’t avoid them. You knew all you could do was delay them by taking extra care of your skin and health.

But we bet that you must’ve never anticipated that as years would pass by, your body would begin to transform itself into something completely different. And listen up, we aren’t talking about weight gain or weight loss here. We’re talking about serious shifts in our body’s composition here. As we age, we all go through some serious age-related body shifting. Here are a few reasons because of which our body’s experiences change or shift drastically, as we age.

The Basics Of Change

We all are aware that our body is made up of lean tissues (organs and muscles), fat, water, and bones, aren’t we? Once we enter our 30s, most of us tend to lose out on our lean tissues. Our muscles, kidney, liver, and other such organs start to lose their cells as well. This phenomenon of losing muscles is called atrophy. With age, even our bones lose minerals and become less dense (1). And tissues on the other hand, well, the water content in them takes a major hit. Therefore, overall, we can conclude that all the basic elements that our body is composed of, experience immense shifts with age.

1. The Decline In The Love Hormones

Men usually tend to store their body fat around their bellies. Now, as they age, we mean that as they enter their 30s, their testosterone hormone levels begin to decrease by 1 percent every year (2). This declining level of such hormones makes it much easier for fat to get accumulated in the middle section of their bodies.

Similarly, in the case of women, they tend to store fat in their buttocks, thighs, and hips. And as women begin to age, especially the period wherein they enter the premenopausal phase, women’s hormones start to change rapidly. The estrogen levels get lower, and so does testosterone and progesterone levels. The fluctuating level of these hormones brings in the shift in the structure of the women’s bodies. Their hourglass body changes into what we once heard a lady in her mid-40s call her body, a “shot glass.”

2. It’s A Result Of Gravity

Gravity is absolutely great, isn’t it? Hey, no! We’re not talking about the Hollywood movie Gravity, that starred Sandra Bullock (BTW, the movie is great. Do watch it, if you haven’t). We’re talking about the basic principle of physics here. Without gravity in our lives, there was no way we could devour those sinful chocolate fountains or play with the yo-yo’s. We couldn’t even do the fast and furious with our cars. Turns out that gravity can do as much to our body as we age, as it can to the world around us.

Because of gravity, certain body parts of our body begin to sag naturally. Breasts drop, like literally! If you’re overweight, your belly can sag and look like it has been pulled down. Gravity has an upper hand on how our body looks. Therefore, if our body is overweight, with age, gravity can wreak havoc on its appearance.

3. Loss Of Muscle

One of the major reasons for the changing shape of our body with age is the loss of muscles. The major groups of muscles hold our body together, providing our body with a posture that gives us form and abilities to function normally. And yes, it’s the muscles that form a major chunk of our body. If you take the body of a healthy adult under consideration, nearly 40-50 percent of the body weight is accounted for by the muscles (3). And as begin to age, the muscles tend to start disappearing. In fact, studies say that after you turn 30, with every passing year, the muscle mass decreases by a percentage or more. This loss of muscle naturally affects the organization of our body and its appearance.

However, this muscle loss can be taken care of if we include an exercise regime in our everyday life. The exercise regime must include resistance workouts. If this is done, then the muscle losses can be diminished.

Ways One Could Minimize Age-Related Changes In Body

• Following a healthy lifestyle
• Exercising regularly
• Consuming alcohol in limits
• Avoiding smoking
• Saying “no” to illicit drugs
• Sticking to a healthy diet

Our body keeps transforming throughout its lifetime. It’s up to us to adopt a healthy way of living to keep our bodies healthy and live happily. So, are you switching to all things healthy from now on? Let us know in the comments below.

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