Let’s cut right to the chase: You can still lose weight when you’re older. “While aging creates increased challenges with weight loss,” says Kristene Diggins, DNP, a family and geriatrics nurse practitioner in Durham, North Carolina, “it does not make it impossible to reach healthy weight goals.”
You may have to work harder to see results, though, or work with your doctor to modify your goals to overcome some normal biological shifts and lifestyle changes. “What changes is the biology behind weight management,” says Ronald Schwartz, MD, senior director of Continuum Health Services at Masonicare, a provider of healthcare services to older adults in Wallingford, Connecticut.
“The key is to adapt to your body’s changing metabolic rate as you age,” says Diggins.
