Older Adult Health Facts

For a Healthy Weight, Find Your Balance Between Food and Physical Activity

Staying at—or getting to—a healthy weight may help you in several ways. Not only will it help you feel better and look better, but research shows it plays an important role in reducing the risk of several types of chronic disease.

Excess body fat leads to a higher risk for premature death, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol and triglycerides, heart disease, stroke, gall bladder disease, respiratory dysfunction, gout, arthritis, and certain kinds of cancers.

HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:
Determine what a healthy weight is for you.
Use the Adult Body Mass Index (BMI) Chart on the next page to help you determine if you are underweight, at a healthy weight, overweight, or obese. Locate your height in the left-most column and read across the row for your height to your weight. Follow the column of the weight up to the top row that lists the BMI. A BMI under 19 is underweight, 19 through 24 is the healthy weight range, 25 through 29 is in the overweight range, and a BMI of 30 and above is the obese range.

For those who are overweight or obese, modest weight loss (e.g., 10 pounds) has health benefits, and the prevention of further weight gain is very important. Eating fewer calories while increasing physical activity are the keys to controlling body weight. Aim for a slow, steady weight loss by decreasing calorie intake (eating fewer calories) while maintaining an adequate nutrient intake and increasing physical activity. Next are some suggestions to get you on your way. If you are overweight and have a chronic disease and/or are on medication, talk to your healthcare provider before you start a weight loss program to make sure the changes are safe.

Many older Americans need to eat fewer calories, be more active, and make wiser food choices.

Eat fewer calories. Calories count—and they come from both food and beverages. There are a right number of calories for you to eat each day. You can estimate your number from the Estimated Calories Needed table on page 3. For example, a 60-year-old, sedentary woman should aim for 1,600 calories a day, while a 60-year-old, sedentary man should aim for 2,000 calories a day.

Be more active. Eating fewer calories, of course, is just one side of the equation. Caloric expenditure needs to be in balance with caloric intake to maintain body weight. That means the calories "burned" during physical activity (in addition to activities of daily living) need to be the same as the calories taken in as food and beverages. All adults should engage in at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity, above usual activity, on most days of the week. However, to prevent weight gain, you may need up to 60 minutes of moderate- to vigorous-intensity activity on most days of the week while not eating more calories than you require.

Make wiser food choices. Remember, it is always important to eat foods that are high in nutrients for the amount of calories they contain, such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat or fat-free milk and milk products. Using the food label on packaged foods can help you make healthier food choices. And don't forget to watch your portion size. Controlling portion size helps limit calorie intake, especially when eating foods that are high in calories.

**Adult BMI Chart**
Height	BMI 19-24 Healthy Weight (in pounds)	BMI 25-29 Overweight (in pounds)	BMI 30-35 Obese (in pounds)
4'10"	91-115	119-138	143-167
4'11"	94-119	124-143	148-173
5'	97-123	128-148	153-179
5'1"	100-127	132-153	158-185
5'2"	104-131	136-158	164-191
5'3"	107-135	141-163	169-197
5'4"	110-140	145-169	174-204
5'5"	114-144	150-174	180-210
5'6"	118-148	155-179	186-216
5'7"	121-153	159-185	191-223
5'8"	125-158	164-190	197-230
5'9"	128-162	169-196	203-236
5'10"	132-167	174-202	209-243
5'11"	136-172	173-208	215-250
6'	140-177	184-213	221-258
6'1"	144-182	189-219	227-265
6'2"	148-186	194-225	233-272
6'3"	152-192	200-232	240-279

Source: Evidence Report of Clinical Guidelines on the Identification, Evaluation, and Treatment of Overweight and Obesity in Adults, 1998. NIH/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI).

Read food packages to make smart choices.

Use the Nutrition Facts label. Most packaged foods have a Nutrition Facts label like the label on the next page. Use this tool to make smart food choices and find out the amount of calories and nutrients you are actually eating. To use the label effectively:

Check servings and calories. Look at the serving size and how many servings you are consuming. If the Nutrition Facts label shows 100 calories for a 1/2 cup serving, and you eat 1 cup, you are consuming 200 calories. Or, if the Nutrition Facts label on a bottle of fruit juice indicates there are 160 calories in a serving and the bottle contains 2 1/2 servings and you drink the entire bottle, you are consuming 400 calories.
Check the percent Daily Value(% DV). For most nutrients, the Nutrition Facts label provides a % DV. Five percent DV or less means that there is a low amount of that nutrient in a particular food, and 20% DV means that there is a high amount of that nutrient in a particular food. Keep nutrients like saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium low. Try to get at least 100% DV per day of dietary fiber; vitamins A, C, and D; calcium; and iron.

Know the serving size. Controlling how much you eat helps limit calorie intake, particularly when eating foods that are high in calories. When using packaged foods with the Nutrition Facts label, you can check servings and calories as noted above. When eating whole foods or packaged foods without labels, pay attention to how the serving size compares to a recommended amount of food from each food group.

Read the ingredient list. Ingredients are listed in descending order by weight from most to least. Make sure that those ingredients you want more of, such as whole grains (e.g. whole wheat) are listed first, as in the example below. Make sure that those you want to eat less of, like added sugars, are not one of the first few ingredients. Some names for added sugars (caloric sweeteners) include sucrose, high-fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, corn sweetener, maple syrup, honey, and molasses.

This is a label from whole-wheat bread (High Fructose Corn Syrup is highlighted.)

INGREDIENTS:WHOLE-WHEAT FLOUR, WATER, WHEAT GLUTEN, SOYBEAN AND/OR CANOLA OIL, YEAST, SALT, HIGH-FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, HONEY.

Check for claims on the front of food packages. The labels of some food products have a variety of claims to help manage your weight such as "low calorie," "lite," "low fat," "reduced fat," "reduced sugar," or "diet."

Estimated Calories Needed by Gender, Age, and Activity Level ^a
Gender	Age (Years)	Sedentary^b	Moderately Active^c	Active^d
Female	51+	1,600	1,800	2,000 - 2,200
Male	51+	2,000	2,200 - 2,400	2,400 - 2,800

^aThese levels are based on Estimated Energy Requirements (EER) from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) Dietary Reference Intakes macronutrients report, 2002, calculated by gender, age, and activity level for reference-sized individuals. "Reference size," as determined by IOM, is based on median height and weight for that height to give a BMI of 21.5 for adult females and 22.5 for adult males.
^bSedentary means a lifestyle that includes only the light physical activity associated with typical day-to-day life.
^cModerately active means a lifestyle that includes physical activity equivalent to walking about 1.5 to 3 miles per day at 3 to 4 miles per hour, in addition to the light physical activity associated with typical day-to-day life.
^dActive means a lifestyle that includes physical activity equivalent to walking more than 3 miles per day at 3 to 4 miles per hour, in addition to the light physical activity associated with typical day-to-day life.

**Calories/Hour Expended in Common Physical Activities**
Moderate Physical Activity	Approximate Calories per hour for a 154 pound Person^a
Hiking	370
Light gardening/yard work	330
Dancing	330
Golf (walking and carrying clubs)	330
Bicycling (<10 miles per hour)	290
Walking (3.5 miles per hour)	280
Weight lifting (general light workout)	220
Stretching	180
Vigorous Physical Activity	Approximate Calories per hour for a 154 pound Person^a
Bicycling (>10 miles per hour)	590
Swimming (slow freestyle laps)	510
Walking (4.5 miles per hour)	460
Heavy yard work (chopping wood)	440
Weight lifting (vigorous effort)	440

^aCalories burned per hour will be higher for persons who weigh more than 154 lbs (70 kg) and lower for persons who weigh less.
Source: Adapted from the 2005 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) Report.

Sample Nutrition Facts Label Content Below

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size, 1 cup (228 grams)
Servings Per Container, 2
Amount Per Serving:
Calories, 250
Calories from Fat, 110
Total Fat, 12 grams (18% Daily Value^*)
Saturated Fat, 3 grams(15% Daily Value)
Trans Fat, 3 grams
Cholesterol, 30 milligrams (10% Daily Value)
Sodium 470 milligrams (20% Daily Value)
Potassium 700 milligrams (20% Daily Value)
Total Carbohydrate, 31 grams (10% Daily Value)
Dietary Fiber, 0 grams (0% Daily Value)
Sugars, 5 grams
Protein, 5 grams
Vitamin A (4% Daily Value)
Vitamin C (2% Daily Value)
Calcium (20% Daily Value)
Iron (4% Daily Value)
^* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your Daily Values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

Calories: 2,000
Total fat, Less than 65 grams
Saturated fat, Less than 20 grams
Cholesterol, Less than 300 milligrams
Sodium, Less than 2,400 milligrams
Total Carbohydrate, 300 grams
Dietary Fiber, 25 grams