Guys, it’s time to face up to an uncomfortable truth: we’re all going to be older one day, much older than we are now. Even worse, we can expect that as we age, our bodies will change slowly but surely and we won’t be able to be active like we were before we were 50. Hormonal changes like declining levels of testosterone, means that fat will accumulate much quicker and easier on the belly. Changes to the way our bones support the body will change as well, and (oh no!) we’ll even shrink a little in height. Many have asked if the pelvic region of the body spreads out with age and if we will have to buy pants a size or so larger.
So, do men’s hips get wider with age? Yes, men’s hips tend to widen as they age. Research conducted at the University of North Carolina involved a study of the hip width of volunteers between 20 and 80 years old, using a CT scan. The good news is that hips don’t widen just because you’re old – the onset of widening hips begins as soon as we stop growing. The hips widen about an inch in the 60 years from 20 (the age most of us stop growing) until 80.
But is there more that happens to our bodies as we age?
Along with widening hips, as we pass through the ages of 40, then 50 and 60, our waistlines increase as well due to the fact that the hip bone is spread out further in the body. There isn’t much that can be done about the spreading of the pelvic bone, but there is something you can do to minimize your change in appearance.
Men have narrower hips than women and men’s shoulders are broader than their waistline. As the hips get wider with age, you can compensate for the wider waistline by broadening the shoulders in weight training. So, as the hips get wider, the shoulders increase through resistance training.
Table of Contents
What Can Alter a Man’s Body Besides Aging?
Besides physiological and hormonal changes and our DNA, people undergo behavioral changes over the course of their lives. A man who is married and has helped raise children may be sedentary during certain parts of the day, as he spends time involved in family activities or simply falling into an otherwise healthy sleep/wake cycle and burning off less calories.
Single guys still out looking for a long-term partner, or simply dating and not deciding to settle down, are more appearance conscious for the very reason that they have to look their best most of the time in order to attract the partner they desire. This means working out, having a strong exercise routine, and eating foods low in fat and high in protein (by way of meat or legumes), minerals and important fat and water soluble vitamins to keep the body in peak health.
Overeating
Still, both married and single men can fall into habits that will alter their body shape. The most common reason is overeating. Like alcohol or drugs, eating lots of fatty foods is an example of self-medicating. Many of us have drowned our sorrows in a big, juicy cheeseburger loaded with enough fat to cause a coronary. Today’s lifestyle keeps us on the go and we don’t have time every day to cook a full meal every night after work, and healthy snacks often don’t seem to stop the hunger pangs during the day, so we resort to pulling up to a convenient drive-thru window and having unhealthy, but filling food, in a matter of minutes.
Not enough exercise
Whether we are married, or divorced and decide to stay single, men and women naturally become more sedentary as they get older. Some who are unfortunate have disabilities from both accidents and injuries or because of an illness.
Muscle mass goes hand in hand with burning calories – the more muscle you have, the more calories you will burn off and the longer you will stay fit. I still put myself though a vigorous physical workout; ironically, I have more endurance now than I did when I was 25 a decade or so ago. Developing good physical resistance training habits when you’re young means that it’ll be easier to lift weights when you’re older. Weight lifting regimens will decrease as you age, but you can count on staying fit and looking better than your age if you keep up exercising.
Gravity
Let’s face it, when we’re retired later in life, parts of our bodies will sag due to the gravitational pull we experience on planet Earth. Gravity will impact bellies, skin and even facial features as we get older. Proper exercise will mitigate the effects of gravity.
What Else Can I Do To Stay Fit and Healthy in My Old age?
A great exercise regimen goes a long way in preventing the onset of age. Relaxing every day is key to both physical and mental health.
Regular sleep patterns
There have been literally hundreds of sleep studies conducted by scientists and academic researchers in the past few decades. Have you ever heard of any conclusions that less sleep is better than more sleep? These days, life is more stressful than ever, and our minds need to be focused on more than one thing most of the time. No matter what habits you have to reduce stress, though they may be excellent in promoting well-being and relaxation, nothing has been devised to be a substitute for sleep.
Einstein referred to sleep as a time for our bodies and minds to be restored, so we wake up like new again. It’s important to get at least 7 hours of sleep at night for people who are over 65. Nocturnal resting in bed is better than being out in a gambling casino or other activity where there is bright light and noise.
A Positive self-image
Imagine waking up every morning, and looking out the window and feeling the urge to yell out, “It’s going to be a great day!!!” No? Okay, it’s understandable. But what if there was a way to wake up and set aside about 15 minutes in the morning to recite positive affirmations?
Affirmations are mostly positive statements. Some of the most successful people recite affirmations regularly. Affirmative statements are positive, upbeat and ring with at least a little truth.
If you have a poor self-image, does it sound okay to say to yourself, “I am worthless.” “I suffer from anxiety.” “I cannot take a lot of pressure.” Labels we give ourselves tend to be negative, and this is quite normal. It is our way of adapting to our environment. But these statements bring us inevitably to a wall where we can’t move past them.
What if, instead of reciting such negative statements in your mind, you instead state, “I have worth.” “I will remain calm and overcome stressful situations.” “I welcome pressure and I can handle pressure.” Researchers have studied affirmations, and they state that affirmations work, for the most part. How they work is even more interesting.
The mind has no idea what is real and what isn’t. When watching an engrossing movie, we actually believe the action happening onscreen while viewing it, because the mind cannot tell the difference between reality and fiction. This is why some people believe in things, or in the words some people say, that are patently false but still they believe it to be fact.
When affirmations are recited twice in a row, they begin to work on the brain and actually help to reprogram the mind. It is suggested that affirmations should be spoken three times a day, for about 10 minutes each time in the morning, afternoon and night. There are a lot of bestselling audiobooks of affirmations spoken by a narrator, then repeated by the listener that claim to have a high degree of effectiveness.
We cannot control the aging process (at least not yet), nor can we alter gravity. But with a healthy, active lifestyle, and a positive approach to every challenge we face in daily life, being older can resemble youth in more ways that you can imagine.