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O n these colder nights , that glass of red and a bowl of sticky toffee pudding can look ever more tempting. And it’s easy to tell yourself that it’s too late to start tackling excess pounds that are so easy to put on in midlife. But even as the clocks go back , there’s a compelling reason to stop putting off that diet .
If you are overweight and over 50, losing just 5 per cent of your body weight could reset your cardiovascular health, making it comparable to that of people who have always been slim. That’s the encouraging finding from a new study by researchers at University College London (UCL), analysing the body mass index of 6,000 people born in Britain in 1958. They looked at people’s highest BMI by the age of 42.
The team then examined whether people had lost or gained at least 5 per cent of their weight by age 50, and if they had maintained this weight difference by the time they reached 55. By the time they reached the age of 62, both the people who had lost weight and those who had always been a healthy weight had similar cholesterol levels, blood pressure and signs of inflammation – all of which are linked to the risk of heart disease and stroke. “Ageing is often framed in terms of inevitable health decline, but our new research shows that this need not be the case,” said Dr Charis Bridger Staatz, one of the UCL researchers.
“Our research shows that it’s never too late to start making changes to improve your health.” ‘Ageing is often framed in terms of inevitable health decline, but our new research shows that this need not be the case’ (Getty) It is a message many of us need to hear. According to separate UCL research, a staggering 43 per cent of us have become obese at some point by our early 50s, and fewer than one in five have maintained a healthy weight throughout adulthood. Overall, two-thirds of us are overweight or obese.
And the situation is getting worse. Only half of Gen Z have a healthy BMI in their early 20s, compared to 85 per cent of early Baby Boomers at a similar age. It is hardly surprising that weight can creep up on us.
Between demanding jobs, caring for children and ageing parents, and trying to keep family life on track, healthy habits can easily slip. Exercise gets squeezed out , meals become something to grab between appointments and a glass of wine or a sweet treat can become a way to unwind. However, if you’ve assumed that dieting is pointless because your metabolism is slowing to a crawl, think again.
A major study published in Science measured the metabolic rates of 6,400 people, from eight days old to 95 years old. It found that metabolism stays remarkably stable through adulthood, only starting to decline from the age of 60 onwards. “There was no fall in metabolic rate in midlife,” says Professor John Speakman, a biologist at the University of Aberdeen and one of the study’s authors.
So why are we getting fatter? "The amount you have to overeat each day to put on 20kg (44lb) over 15 years is not much," he says. “And increased alcohol consumption could be another factor".
The new 5 per cent target is more achievable than you might imagine. For someone weighing 12 stone, that means losing just over half a stone. At 14 stone, it is around 10lb.
So how can you lose weight and gain health in mid-life? The answer is to develop habits that work with your body now. Seven ways to make weight loss work in your 50s 1.
Focus on fibre and protein “The easiest way to lose weight is to eat less,” says Dr Yeo. “The easiest way to eat less is to eat food that makes you feel more satisfied.” He says we should eat protein “because it is more complex to digest”, and fibre “because it’s not digested at all”. He says, “They spend longer in the gut, which gives them more time to trigger the same hormones as weight loss drugs do, albeit to a lesser extent.” Fish is a great way to get the protein you need – and vegetables are also a must (Getty Images) Pairing carbohydrates with protein, fibre and healthy fats can also help make meals more filling and moderate spikes in blood glucose after eating, which particularly affects menopausal women and can contribute to excess fat around the middle.
Nutritionist Kim Pearson, author of The Nozempic Diet, recommends aiming for around 25-30g of protein at every meal – the equivalent of four eggs or around 150g of fish, chicken or tofu – alongside plenty of vegetables. She also suggests filling half your plate with vegetables and aim for three different varieties to boost fibre and feed gut microbes, which have been linked to a healthier body weight. 2. Make strength training a priority Dieting alone can mean that a quarter of the weight you lose is precious lean mass, rather than fat.
A study published this year in the journal Frontiers in Endocrinology found that people who performed a seven-minute exercise home workout three times a week using increasingly heavy weights protected their lean mass and increased fat loss more than people doing aerobic exercise such as running. 3. Ditch ultra-processed foods A study by the US National Institutes of Health in 2019 found that people eating largely ultra-processed foods consumed an average of 500 calories a day more than those eating a diet of unprocessed foods. In two weeks, those eating a diet consisting of ultra-processed foods gained 2lb, while those eating natural foods lost 2lb.
This happened even though the calorie intake was identical. 4. Stop sacrificing sleep Pearson explains, “Lack of sleep increases the hunger hormone ghrelin. It also reduces levels of the fullness hormone leptin, meaning our ‘stop eating’ messages don’t reach the brain, and it can lower levels of GLP-1, the same hormone that Wegovy mimics.” The result?
“In one study, people who lost just 80 minutes of sleep in one night ate an average of 549 extra calories the following day.” Kim Pearson recommends giving yourself eight hours of ‘sleep opportunity’ – that means no bed-based phone time (Getty/iStock) Pearson says, “Aim to finish eating at least two hours before bed and avoid snacks after dinner when insulin sensitivity declines. Give yourself eight hours of ‘sleep opportunity’ (time in bed not looking at a screen) per night. Set an alarm to remind you to switch off Netflix and start getting ready for bed.” 5.
Slow down A Japanese study found people who ate slowly were 42 per cent less likely to be obese than fast eaters because eating more slowly gives your body time to release the hormones that tell your brain you've had enough. 6. Keep going When the scales won’t budge, it’s easy to give up. A 2025 study of more than 6,500 dieters by Australia's national science organisation CSIRO found that most successful slimmers experienced at least one three-month plateau before losing more weight.
Yet two-thirds still lost at least five per cent of their starting weight after a year. 7. Get help rather than blaming yourself If you have repeatedly tried to lose weight and regained it, you are not alone. Body weight is influenced by appetite, biology, medication, sleep, stress, environment and genetics, as well as food and activity.
Dr Giles Yeo, a neuroscientist at the University of Cambridge , says your brain has a "comfortable" weight range it prefers to defend. "When you lose weight, even five or 10 pounds, the brain sees that as a warning sign," he says. "To defend what it thinks is your ‘right’ weight, it makes you feel hungrier and lowers your metabolism so your body becomes slightly more efficient.” For some people, medication may be an option.
The benefits of modern weight loss drugs may extend beyond weight loss. In the large SELECT trial, semaglutide – the active ingredient in Wegovy and Ozempic - reduced the risk of a major cardiovascular event, such as a heart attack, stroke or cardiovascular death, by 20 per cent. Buying unapproved drugs can be dangerous so always speak to your GP or check that online pharmacies are registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council.
Medication is not a shortcut that makes healthy habits irrelevant, but for some, it can be a valuable addition.
Source: The Independent
