Retirement Can Make You Fat

Most people say one of the things they’ll do in retirement is adopt healthier lifestyles. They’ll exercise more, eat better, and drink less alcohol. The truth too often is the opposite. A study of 38,000 retirees concluded that retirement often leads to a modest weigh gain. By modest weight gain, they mean two to four pounds on average. But of course that means some retirees gain more, and some substantially more. And some subgroups of retirees are more prone to significant weight gain than others. Women in general and men who had more physically demanding jobs were more likely to gain weight than others.

So what’s the explanation for these extra pounds? Some of the weight gain may be due to the fact that many people are less physically active when they retire, and that they have less structured meal times or change their eating patterns in retirement, according to a study from the University of Iowa College of Medicine. And some of it has less to do with retirement per se than with the aging process. Our metabolisms slow as we age, explains Desmond Ebanks, a doctor and founder of Alternity Healthcare, a medical practice that focuses on older patients. In fact, “we have to give up about 5% of the amount of calories we are eating every decade after 40 if we want to prevent weight gain,” estimates fitness and lifestyle coach Rona Lewis, author of “Does This Cookbook Make Me Look Fat?”