Get exercising if you want to lose that middle-age spread, writes BRIAN O'CONNELL
SOME RECENT statistics are helping paint a clearer picture of the health consequences of Irish men who pile on the pounds in their 40s.
One study found that obesity across both genders has risen in Ireland by 67 per cent since 1990, with the levels of obesity much greater in men than their female counterparts. It found also that while 14 per cent of Irish men are currently obese, as these men get older and move into their 40s and 50s, that incidence rises to 25 per cent of men.
Currently, almost half of all older men in Ireland are overweight, while Irish men rank 12th in the EU in terms of life expectancy.
A study from Oxford University also found that an alarming eight out of 10 men will be overweight or obese by 2020. The surveys back up what health professionals have been saying for several years – that issues of weight and obesity among certain sections of the population are now reaching epidemic proportions.
Males in particular are susceptible to weight gain due in no small part to less exercise and worsening dietary habits as they age. The difficulty is that mobility is decreased because of weight gain and weight gain decreases mobility – it’s a vicious circle.
The good news though is that even after decades of abuse, the body retains a remarkable ability to renew itself with proper exercise and eating changes.
Fine Gael TD Fergus O’Dowd is one of those Irish males who found himself over 40 and overweight and decided to do something about it. O’Dowd recently took part in RTÉ’s Operation Transformation, and set himself the task of shedding a few stone.
“I was 18 stone 12 pounds at Christmas and had been fighting my weight for a number of years. I tried Weighwatchers but just ended up putting the weight back on again,” he says. Like many men, O’Dowd says he noticed a significant difference moving from his 30s to his 40s in attempting to maintain a healthy body weight.
“I was far more active in my 30s. My family were young and I was 32 when I married. So I had lots of energy for chasing the kids around the place and that kept me fit!
“I would say the key thing was that my lifestyle changed from my late 30s onwards. I started eating too much and enjoying wine at the weekends.”
Since Christmas, O’Dowd has set about cutting out certain foods and taking regular exercise. The results have seen his weight drop to 15 stone 6 pounds; the lowest it has been for many years.
“Basically, I’m down about three stone, and it means I’m far more active than I was. I’m swimming regularly every week, going cross-country training and walking on a beach weekly. Last Sunday was something of a milestone – I had set myself a challenge to run up a hill beside our local church in Drogheda and I did it. I feel so much fitter and younger. Another knock-on effect is that I notice I’m delivering political leaflets faster than I ever did!
“Exercise was the key element. When I did Weightwatchers before I didn’t exercise. I’ve been talking to a lot of people about their weight in the past few months and I tell them that exercise is the key that unlocks everything – your right frame of mind, attitude and ambition – all of that comes with exercise when trying to lose the weight.”
O’Dowd believes Irish men may be less self-conscious of their bodies than their female counterparts, particularly as they reach 40. An increased societal acceptance of overweight males over 40 makes it harder, he says, for individuals to address their own particular issues.
“I don’t think men have the same body image as females do. Perhaps we’re not as self-conscious of our weight as women are.
“Once men settle down they don’t feel the same pressure to maintain a certain physique. Women also are more conscious of body types through tabloid media and fashion magazines. Some men just seem to go through a dark phase as they age, they wear dark clothes and retreat into themselves as more weight piles on.
“It’s also very difficult for them to speak to male friends about weight issues.”
One of those dealing first hand with the health repercussions of males and their weight gain is emergency medicine consultant Dr Chris Luke.
While weight gain affects the individual in terms of personal health and wellbeing, Luke points out that society will also have to pick up the tab.
“Obesity is going to cripple the health service if it continues at current trends. We’re talking about cholesterol issues, diabetes, accelerated rates of heart disease and kidney complaints, as well as premature death,” he says.
“There’s not a huge difference between the way a man and woman regard themselves if they are overweight. Once anyone reaches 20 stone plus, then they have switched off psychologically.”
Luke also points out that obesity is now being linked to cancer in the same way smoking was in the 20th century. “One of the big constants I see for men overweight is that they’re having a few pints a night and then maybe a pizza or takeaway late.
“This piles on the weight for middle-aged men. A 5ft 10in man who is 18 stone or over will find it very difficult to exercise.”
Luke says it’s all about taking small steps and gradually overhauling lifestyle and dietary patterns. Bad eating patterns may have built up over decades, so the rush to try to change them overnight in one dramatic intervention is likely to fail, he argues.
For the middle-aged man then, the answer is moderate but consistent adaptations to lifestyle.
“Basically my whole take on lifestyle and all these other issues is that you may have huge ambitions but nothing works at first beyond the 1 per cent.
“So if you’re looking for weight reduction, then start with one spoonful of sugar less a day, or one slice of pizza less. People love to go for fancy diets when in reality reducing your intake by 1-5 per cent is more realistic.
“At the end of the day, you want to end up with something still ongoing in two to four weeks’ time, rather than two to four days.”
14%of Irish men are currently obese
As these men get older and move into their 40s and 50s, 25%of them will be obese
8 out of 10men will be overweight or obese by 2020
DRASTIC CHANGES: SLIM CHANCE OF SUCCESS
Personal trainer Martin Bohane offers advice for men over 40 returning to exercise:
I always advise people to get a doctor’s clearance certificate just to make sure everything is okay when returning to exercise.
You didn’t lose your fitness overnight so people need to remember you’re not going to get it back overnight either. It’s all about small steps.
I would say gently does it and try to build it slowly. For example, a good approach would be to go for a 10-minute run, and then walk for a minute or two, and then try run again.
The same approach goes for diet. You could start by trying to make breakfast a bit healthier and then moving to lunch and then dinner. The bottom line is don’t do anything drastic such as eat nothing but grapes for six weeks. Your chances of succeeding are going to be slim.
Exercise is a great stress relief, and the power of the body to recover at 40 or 45 or whatever age is remarkable.
If you can keep going for a year with small changes then it will become part of your life and not just a temporary burst.
