The role of calories in aging

Christopher Thomas

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. Nutrition, Recent Articles — By Christopher Thomas on September 11, 2011

Excess fat is the biggest problem as we age

The biggest health challenge we face as we get older is not so much cancer, heart attack or diabetes, but its direct antecedent – the accumulation of fat in our tissues. Obesity is responsible for up to 70% of chronic disease and is a major contributor to age-related decline. Despite this, at least every second adult will become obese in their lifetime. The main reason for this crisis is the combination of overeating and inactivity – an imbalance that tips the scales until overall health is compromised. Here we look at our exposure to one of the most important elements of aging: the calories we eat.

The crisis of calories

Food provides the body with energy in the form of calories. Some of this energy is used in metabolism. Any calories consumed that exceed our requirements are stored as fat. It is not only the fat we eat that is stored as fat, but also the excess energy from too much sugar and protein. If calories in whatever form exceed our needs, fat storage swells, particularly under the skin, and in the buttocks and breasts (peripheral fat). If this excess continues, our body creates additional storage capacity, particularly around the internal organs (visceral fat).

Unlike peripheral fat, visceral fat is less efficient and far more dangerous to have around the waistline. This is because fat cells are not simply lifeless lumps of lard, but dynamic regulators of health and wellbeing. All fat, but especially visceral fat, can cause a release of chemical factors that interfere with metabolism, the immune system and many other functions. Fat deposits can also have a direct physical effect. For example, fat around the organs can squeeze them, reducing their blood supply and raising our internal (core) temperature. Fat in the lining of our blood vessels can also serve to clog up, and ultimately block, the flow of blood.

Calories and cell division

Our fat deposits are neither the only consequence, nor the only part of the body, to be affected by overeating. In most cells, increased energy supply means faster growth and a shortening of the time between cell divisions (because it takes less time to build up the stores required to turn one cell into two). Since age is measured at the cellular level by the number of times a cell has divided, aging is faster when calories are in excess. Conversely, when the intake of calories is limited, the time between cell divisions becomes longer, so when compared to the calendar, aging appears to slow.

Elements of aging – calories

We used to eat to survive. Not any more. Most modern diets contain more nutrients than required for our metabolism and daily energy expenditure. And these excess calories have their toll. The biggest health challenge we face, as we get older, is the accumulation of fat in our tissues. Obesity is responsible for up to 70% of chronic disease and ...

Calories plus aging equals chronic disease and cancer

The biggest health challenge we will face as we get older is not so much cancer, heart attack or diabetes, but its direct antecedent - the accumulation of fat in our tissues. Obesity is responsible for up to 70% of chronic disease and is a major contributor to age-related decline. The following is excerpted from Chapter 9 of Fast Living, ...

Elements of aging – calories

Calories plus aging equals chronic disease and cancer