Changes in old age - Our energy needs
The change that is set in stone from the beginning and that we cannot change is our energy needs. When we talk about energy needs, we are talking about calorie intake. Every person has their own needs in terms of calorie intake. Depending on how much or little physical and mental activity a person has, the calorie requirement is correspondingly higher or lower. As a person ages, calorie counting becomes more important as calorie needs decrease. If calorie intake is not adjusted accordingly, obesity and diseases are the result. It is not for nothing that the proportion of young overweight people is far lower than the proportion of older overweight people. So what exactly is the energy requirement? This article will tell you everything you need to know.
The calorie requirement in brief
A person's energy needs consist of two parts: Firstly, there is the basal metabolic rate, and secondly, there is the power metabolic rate. Let's take a closer look at both. Then you will know why ageing people have so many problems maintaining or achieving a healthy weight.
Basal metabolic rate
The basal metabolic rate is what the human body consumes at complete rest and without activity in order to optimally supply its metabolic processes and organs. This is because almost everything needs energy:
- Breathing
- Pulse
- Brain
- Heart
- Gastrointestinal tract
- Liver
The basal metabolic rate varies from person to person. It is influenced by a wide variety of factors:
These include age, for example, which brings us to the important topic for you. Metabolic processes take up less energy with age because breathing and pulse rate slow down. But gender also plays a role. For example, women have a much lower average calorie requirement than men throughout their lives. This is due to the fact that women have less muscle and more fat than men. You have probably heard that muscles require more energy than fat because they need to be supplied with energy, while fat itself is an energy reserve and has a negligible effect on the body's energy needs.
You will learn how to calculate the basal metabolic rate and how easy it is later on. This will enable you to give yourself and the people around you important guidelines when choosing food and preparing it, so that weight stays within limits.
The power metabolism
However, the basal metabolic rate alone does not explain the whole mystery of calorie requirements. It is supplemented by the performance metabolic rate. After all, we don't just lie around all day staring into space. Activities enrich our daily lives. When we are active, our demand naturally increases because the body needs more energy than when we are at rest. It is comparable to the fact that we want to buy a luxury item. Then we have to dig deeper into our pockets than in a month when we don't buy anything, don't we?
Now, this performance metabolism is not only influenced by sport or work in the sense of physical activity, as many people think. The brain also needs more calories during concentrated work. Even the ambient temperature influences the power metabolism. If it is colder than 20°C, the body has to use energy to keep the temperature constant at 37°C. This is achieved, for example, by shivering. This is achieved, for example, by shivering, which is an extremely strong form of warming and consumes a lot of energy. At high temperatures, on the other hand, sweat forms. This evaporates, which ultimately takes energy away from the body.
In addition, digestion requires energy. With some very few and low-calorie foods, such as lettuce, the energy consumption during digestion is so high that we even register a minus in the overall balance after eating these foods. This is often referred to as negative calories.
So, as you can see, in addition to the total calorie requirement, the power is added to the basal metabolic rate. If seniors and all other people have on their radar what their complete calorie needs are at any given age, then they are defying a change in age; namely, gaining weight. This means that you can help older people maintain a very healthy weight with the simplest of maths. But what does this maths look like?
Little Customer of Mathematics
Of course, we are not going to go through the Abitur again and juggle with complicated formulas. You will only get a small insight into the calculation of calories and energy requirements. We will proceed very simply and in small steps.
The change in ageing
Let's start with the simplest; namely the change when you age:
- Let's assume that Frank had a daily calorie requirement of 2400 calories when he was in his prime. That's above average, but because he did a lot of exercise and is an adult, he burned more than the average person.
- After his prime, Frank gets a little older. He passes the age of 30 and is running towards 33. Exactly at this point it becomes important for him!
- Because as soon as Frank is 33, his basal metabolic rate starts to decrease. This means that if he continues to eat as much as before, he will gain weight. This is because excess calories accumulate. The body sets these aside as fat reserves.
This simple fact explains why people have weight problems as they get older. Hardly anyone realises that there is a change in the body's needs. This is exactly why people continue to eat as usual.
Calculating calorie requirements
Calorie requirements can be calculated with a few simple tricks. All you need are four formulas. Let's look at these first and then go through the whole thing with an example:
- Basal metabolic rate (daily) = 24 calories per kg of body weight
- Metabolic rate = There are many different approaches. The simplest is to choose one third of the basal metabolic rate for light to moderate activities, two thirds for heavy activities and the full basal metabolic rate for very heavy activities.
- Total energy requirement = basal metabolic rate + power metabolic rate
- Decrease in energy requirements with age: The following table should explain to you how energy requirements decrease with age...
| Age | Between 33 and 55 | Between 55 and 75 | After 75 |
| Reduction in energy demand | 10 % | 15 % | 10 % |
Let's look at the whole thing with an example for better practicability:
Let's assume Hans, who weighs 77 kg.
This results in a basal metabolic rate of 24 calories * 77 = 1848 calories.
He does sport regularly and works in the warehouse. This is probably a heavy workload, which means that two thirds of his basal metabolic rate can be added: 2/3 * 1848 = 1232.
This is added up so that the total energy requirement is 1848 + 1232 = 3080.
But Hans is no longer the youngest. He has reached a proud age of 60 and has therefore already gone through two age-related changes in calorie requirements. Firstly, his energy needs have been reduced by 10% between the ages of 33 and 55, which results in the following adjustment: 3080 * (1 - 0.1) = 2772. Secondly, from the age of 55, Hans has to accept a further downward adjustment in calorie needs of 15%: 2772 * (1 - 0.15) = 2356.
Thus, at the age of 60, Hans has a total daily calorie requirement of 2356 kcal. If he eats this amount, he neither loses nor gains weight, but maintains his weight.
Conclusion
With simple calculations, you can prevent yourself and those around you from becoming overweight by simply pointing out at the appropriate age: "Stop! Now we have to change something, because otherwise suddenly, quite unexpectedly, the weight will go up little by little, and you don't even know why."
However, you now know and are instructed to take a look at the calorie intake of older people around you or even yourself. You do this by matching the person's activity level and age with the amount of food they consume. It is very easy.
