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Age old problem

Marie Claire news

Are you finding it hard to stay in shape as you get older? You've got being a woman to thank for that.



Scientists have confirmed what we suspected anyway: that it's harder to keep your figure in trim as the years tick by, although men still have no problem converting protein to muscle.



And while this means middle-aged women simply need to spend more time on the treadmill (and less near the biscuit tin), much older women really do need to look after themselves better.



'Older women have less muscle than men so their balance is not as good and they are more at risk of falling,' says Professor Michael Rennie from Nottingham University.



'If an elderly woman falls over she has a 50% risk of dying within two years, which underlines the need for more research into this area. Men suffer far fewer bad falls.'



The study, which recommends older women try and increase the amount of protein in their diets and up the amount of resistance exercise they do, focused on individuals between the ages of 65 and 80.



According to previous reports, for younger adults there is no such difference between men and women and it isn't until the menopause, when a woman's oestrogen levels fall, that she will find it so significantly difficult to maintain muscle definition in comparison to men.

Wednesday 26 March 2008


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