I have been wondering...

Is it easier for a teenager to lose weight than someone who is older? I say this because I am almost 17 and have only been working out a lot over the past few weeks, yet I feel much healthier and I am already starting to slim down. I then read stories about older people who are taking a long time to only cut off a very small amount of weight.

I have been biking, running, lifting, and eating healthier and I feel so much better than I did a few weeks ago before I started all of this!


I am really enjoying myself!

-Rob

Teens and 20's have higher metabolism which makes losing weight easier. I think male's metabolism starts slowing down at age 25.

I'm a 43 year old female...

and over the past 20 months have lost close to 200lbs...

I strongly believe that age is not a factor but a readiness and willingness to commit to a lifestyle change are what plays an important factor..

The disadvantage older folks tend tohave is life gets in the way sometimes, you're at a desk for 10-12 hours a day (16 generallyin my case) then obligations after work... makes the time commitment harder but not impossible at all..

People like to have excuses... or reasons.. or justifications or whatever... and that's pretty much what they are.. If a person wants to do something - they will find a way to do it..

I doubt it.

I'm 61 and have lost 37 lb in the last 13 weeks without any problem, possibly a bit faster than widely recommended. Ok, I put a bit back on over Xmas but was back on track soon after.

I'd never needed to lose weight before so thought it might be as difficult as I'd heard. I thought I needed to find and follow one of those fancy diets I'd heard of which must deter a lot of people. I thought it was very technical and complicated. In reality, all I needed to do was eat a bit less and exercise a little more, i.e. just make sure I didn't get more calories than I needed. That seems to be the same whether you're young or old.

I think the truth is we all have different circumstances and different pressures that cause us to be overweight whatever our age. For some the circumstances may be a little more difficult to deal with but to be a healthy weight we all need to do pretty much the same thing. And I feel a whole lot better not lugging those 37 lb around.

HI Rob,

I am a 42 yr old woman and I am going to ahve to disagree with the older crowd here...

I can't say how it works for men, but for women there are changes that occur that can make it difficult to loose weight. Our bodies change to prepare us for our "child bearing years". Around that 30 year mark, our bodies will hold on to things more tightly.

When I was in my teens I had the metabolism of a hummingbird! I can't even begin to tell you want sort of foods I could put away and never a pound from it. I'm not talking small amounts either....

In a single day I would eat:

A bagel with cream cheese and one with butter (from the school cafeteria when they would slap like a whole brick of cream cheese on it and literally 1/2 a stick of butter on the buttered bagels.)

some kinda fast food for lunch ( hamberger fries)

and when I got home around 2:30pm it was the worse. I would heat up a deep frier and make 3/4 of a bag of oreida frozen french fries, 4 hot dogs, and these packs of dim sum (you know, egg rolls, pot stickers, shrimp dumpling...) and sit in front of the tv for like two hours and consumer all this crap. THEN, at 6 pm we ate dinner. ( can we say gigantic pig?? OINK OINK )

I was already 5'7" and was only 110 lbs. Stayed that weight till I was 25. if I went up a pound it fell off in a day. Weight was never an issue. Then everything started changing. Thankfully before I turned 25 I developed better eating habits, so when my metabolism started to slow down, I only gained 10lbs and was 120lbs. I did start actively working out then, but I had to be conscious of what I ate now.

At thirty-one I had kids and thats when the real change happened to me. My whole body changed. MY metabolism, my shape, all of it. I can eat right, and workout and be the most healthy person I can be, but I will never be physically who I was before I had my kids.

Now, I'm not saying that older people can't loose weight, but in my case it is definately harder than it use to be......

take care,
Diane

I'm totally with Diane, everything changed for me after I had my first baby at age 37. I've always had to work to watch my weight, but I used to take weight off with no problem if I just set my mind to it. Not anymore! Women do have hormonal issues that I believe somehow change our metabolism. Of course older people can take off weight, but I say its a lot easier when you're young.

For the most part, BMR reduction when we age is mostly related to decreased LBM and an increase in lipid mass which isn't helped by the natural process of denervation muscle atrophy and general inactivity. Hormonally both men and women are affected by reduced HGH, IGf1,TSH and testosterone(along with other specific hormones). Menopause, and the male equivalent andropause, both are shining examples of endocrine function decline.

These endocrine specific declines do not help "fight of the bulge" in our later years. However, Studies have shown the decline in many age related factors towards obesity (and aging in general) to be substantially reduced with continued exercise and activity into old age.

YAY ya mean I can stop working and just give up and blame it on my age...

Of course not! Damn, thats not the point at all I was trying to make...

Its not really a question of blame. Science is science and hormones do affect weight. Hence why Clemons wife took human growth hormone to get in shape for her photo shoot (uh yeah, she took it but the baseball player didn't??). Can people still lose weight as they age? Of course. Is it easier to lose weight or keep weight off when one is younger? I would think so.

Nope - I quit..

I'm going out for ice cream and cancelling my gym membership


but in all seriousness... having to lose 20lbs is far different than having to lose 70, 90, 140, or more lbs... and to lose that amount of weight -it's mindset - not age...

^ I agree. I think it depends on your motivation, determination, and the amount of weight you have to lose. Like malificent said, 20 pounds is different from 50+ pounds, and even though many health choices are meant to become long term, to lose that much weight, it does take a few months. So I think your commitment is a big factor.

Of course there are a zillion different factors in weight loss. But hello! Just look around the world. Dont you notice if you COMPARE all the teens and people in their 20s to people in their 30s and higher, the older group ON AVERAGE is larger?