Why 45 is start of a golden age of health: Confronted with their own mortality many kick drinking and improve diet

By Andrew Levy



Health kick: Many opt for a healthier lifestyle as they get older


It is an age when our plans to exercise regularly have usually petered out and our waistlines are expanding.

But this doesn’t mean people have given up wanting to be in good shape when they reach 45.

For many, halfway through their fifth decade is a ‘golden age’ when they try to slow the march of time by cutting out as many health risks as possible.


Confronted with their own mortality as they, or family and friends, have health scares, more than a third opt to limit drinking to three or fewer units a week, according to a study.

A similar proportion avoid processed food, while more than eight in ten eat the recommended five pieces of fruit or veg every day.

Nine in ten are also non-smokers, compared to three-quarters of people under 45, and nearly 40 per cent say they ‘never over-indulge in food or drink at the weekends’, a rule just one in six younger people stick to.

The snapshot of middle-age resolve was gathered in a Health of the Nation study commissioned by new supplements company Bioglan, which questioned 5,000 people aged 16 and over.

It found the age of 45 was linked to a decline in health, with a third of people at that age reporting they suffer joint pain, one in five having high blood pressure, and one in ten experiencing shortness of breath.


At the same time, there was a marked increase in concerns about ailments including heart disease, dementia and stroke, with around half of those midway through their fifth decade fearing for their health.


Almost six in ten of this age group re-evaluated their prospects after suffering a health scare, while four in ten took stock after a family member was taken ill.

Other triggers included performing badly on a medical assessment, or an unflattering comment about their appearance.

The level of concern was higher in over-45s than in over-55s, suggesting a laissez-faire attitude in those approaching retirement – perhaps because they were more set in their ways or they felt they had escaped the health problems that often emerge when middle-age begins.

One 45-year-old who has worked hard at maintaining her fitness is former model Cindy Crawford, combining a high-protein diet with a rigorous exercise regime of pilates, cardio work and yoga.

Young people aged 16-17 recorded the greatest reaction to a celebrity health scare, with one in 11 saying they had been affected by one. This compared to one in 30 over-45s and just one in 83 over-55s.

GP Mary Shelby, who helped analyse the survey, said: ‘In the same way that people in their 20s and 30s don’t worry about a pension plan, similarly they are lax about their health choices.

‘Long-term diseases such as stroke and heart disease seem a long way off but once we hit our 40s these health issues become much more real.’



source:dailymail

Bye-bye back fat! Huge rise in liposuction as women crave hourglass glamour of TV's Mad Men

By Sadie Nicholas


Hourglass figure: Jennifer Finemore is delighted with her new shape

Young mum Jennifer Finemore takes pride in her healthy lifestyle, and the lean, athletic body it has helped her achieve. So it is understandable that she grew frustrated with stubborn areas of fat on her flanks - the lower half of her back - that refused to budge.

'I've always been body-conscious and active and a consistent size 12, slim for my 5ft 10in frame,' says Jennifer, 29, who is divorced and lives in Leicestershire with her children Bradley, six, and Trinity, four.

'I began to obsess about my muffin top and tried crash diets, but while I got skinnier everywhere else, my back fat remained. It was the only thing I saw when I looked in the mirror.'

Exasperated, a year ago Jennifer had liposuction to extract more than three-and-a-half pints of fat from her back and thighs.

It may sound like drastic action, but The Harley Medical Group, the UK's largest cosmetic surgery provider, has reported an astonishing 54 per cent increase in women having liposuction to remove deposits of fat from their backs last year.

They call it 'the Mad Men effect', with scores of British women trying to mimic the hourglass silhouettes of the stars of the US show, set in the Sixties.

Surgeon Marco Moraci says: 'Waists were smaller 50 years ago, as most thirty-something women who have tried to fit into their mothers' old dresses will know.

'Women of the Sixties wore corsetry but research shows people today are thicker
round the middle. A combination of diet and an inactive lifestyle is usually to blame.

Infra-scapular fat - the female flanks - can be found on women who are otherwise slim. This is usually down to genetics.

'We're born with a number of fat cells but they're distributed differently, hence one person may gain weight around their middle and another on their thighs. Most patients wanting to reduce their back fat are in good shape otherwise.

'We don't know why, but the body holds on to these fat deposits as an emergency reserve. Only by becoming severely underweight can you naturally get rid of it,' he says.

Liposuction involves making an incision to the fatty area into which a tube about 3mm in diameter is inserted. A solution of 95 per cent water and the rest anaesthetic is released into the area to liquefy the fat so it can be drawn out.

'Once fat cells are removed, fat won't deposit in that area again, or not to the same extent. But this treatment is suitable only for people who are slim, healthy and have good skin, not those who have lost a lot of weight and whose skin has lost elasticity.

Thrilled with the results: Jennifer's waist before and after the procedure


'For liposuction to be effective there needs to be skin retraction - where it shrinks back into place once the fat has been removed. Otherwise a patient will be left with loose skin like an empty bag,' says Moraci.

'It is the ideal procedure for getting rid of stubborn pockets of fat, which is exactly what back fat is,' he says.

It was when Jennifer got divorced 18 months ago that she first considered the surgery, which cost £4,500.

'I was desperate to feel better about myself,' she says. 'Then a friend had liposuction on her thighs and said it was the best thing that had ever happened to her self-confidence, so I decided to take the plunge.'

Four weeks after a consultation at The Harley Medical Group in Nottingham in April 2010, Jennifer went to its London clinic for the hour-long surgical procedure.


The Joan Harris effect: Mad Men siren Christina Hendricks has become the poster girl for the hourglass figure


'Although I was impressed with the surgeon's CV, and was certain I wanted the procedure, I was a little nervous too,' says Jennifer.

'Any surgery carries risks and as a mother that was something I had to contemplate, particularly as I was having a general anaesthetic,' she says.

'The surgeon reassured me that because I'm fit and healthy, don't smoke and rarely drink, any risk was very low.

'The bruising and pain weren't as bad as I'd expected and my back felt much smoother and leaner when I ran my hands over the compression garment I had to wear for six weeks to aid the process.

'Once the swelling had subsided I was thrilled with the results, more so because I'd dropped a dress size to a ten.'


source:dailymail