Strength Training Key to Battling Belly Fat as You Age
Dec-25-2014

If you want to battle belly fat as you age, new research suggests you need to add weight training to your exercise regimen.

Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health found that combining aerobic activities with weight, or resistance, training is key to preserving muscle and avoiding weight gain, particularly age-related belly fat.

"Because aging is associated with sarcopenia, the loss of skeletal muscle mass, relying on body weight alone is insufficient for the study of healthy aging," study author Rania Mekary, a researcher at Harvard's department of nutrition, said in a university news release.

"Measuring waist circumference is a better indicator of healthy body composition among older adults," Mekary explained. "Engaging in resistance training or, ideally, combining it with aerobic exercise could help older adults lessen abdominal fat while increasing or preserving muscle mass."

The long-term study was conducted between 1996 and 2008. It included more than 10,000 healthy men aged 40 or older whose body mass indexes (BMI) varied widely. BMI measures body fat by looking at weight and height.

The researchers analyzed the men's physical activity, weight and waist circumference to determine which exercises had the most significant effect on the men's waistlines, or the amount of belly fat they had.

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