I have recently come across several articles telling over 65s to build some “buffer weight”, i.e. put on some weight as they get older… to be HEALTHIER [1][2]. Contradiction in terms?
Is it really a great idea to aim for a higher BMI when we get older?
Or is it rubbish health advice?
1) Worried about your BMI?
BMI is not a good measure of your weight or health. It does not check if most of your weight is from fat or muscle: most body builders have a BMI in the obese range !!!
BMI correlates with weight, not with healthy weight or lean mass.
2) Older Person BMI?
Several organisations have come up with the brilliant idea of defining an “Older person’s BMI” [3], where the BMI aimed for for over 65s is higher than for younger people. It is a rather questionable idea built atop the questionable BMI altar.
The problem is most older people lack muscle mass, rather than “weight”. So, instead, we need to address the relative lack of muscle (technical term: sarcopenia).
3) How to increase muscle mass?
- Optimize nutrition (including enough protein)
- Ensure absorption
- Increase exercise: both resistance and cardio
- Forget about BMI
- Some targeted supplements may also help.
4) How to monitor improvement?
You can use impedance (there are decent impedance scales to use at home) to estimate the percentage of fat in your body. While not 100% accurate, if you measure regularly at the same time of day, same amount of hydration, it will give you an idea which way your lean mass (bones+muscle) and fat mass are going.
For example: If your weight stays the same, but the body fat percentage drops, this means your muscle mass has likely increased (and your bones are keeping strong).
I recommend those devices where your feet are in contact with the sensors (or even feet and hands, as found at some gyms. Fingers/hands sensors by themselves are NOT enough).
Tanita is an established brand of scales, many of which feature impedance to gauge your body fat percentage. For instance: https://amzn.to/4iswEpl
Hope this helps! Let me know your thoughts….
REFERENCES
[1] https://verywellhealth.com/healthy-weight-and-bmi-range-for-older-adults-2223592
[2] Why you need to gain ‘buffer’ weight over 65 and how to do it healthily