Health of the Nation: The four best ways to lose weight after 50

While exercise plays a big part in helping keep your health in check after turning 50 – it is not the only important step to take. See experts’ advice on how to keep chronic illness at bay.

Exercise is one of the keys to keeping chronic illnesses at bay after your turn 50. When you do it also matters.

As you age your risk of cancer and other chronic illnesses rises so it’s important to make sure you take advantage of free screening programs and have other regular health checks.

‘WHY LINE DANCING IS GOOD FOR ME’

Line dancing is as good for your fitness as it is for your soul – just ask Tita Kolonis.

The 68-year-old teaches line dancing at U3A and after two classes she recorded she’d walked 7000 steps.

It was being active that she enjoyed the most.

“Because I teach I have to learn it all myself, so I download the steps on YouTube and when I’m competent myself I teach it to everyone else,” Mrs Kolonis said.

“It makes me think and makes my brain work – not only my brain, but my fitness because it’s a sequenced dance and you have to follow the steps to get it right.”

Line Dancers Cathy Gatt, Tita Kolonis, John Kolonis, Mary Seychell and Maree Camilleri. Picture: Andrew Tauber

She and husband John have also met some of their closest friends line dancing, in the group of mainly over 50s.

“It’s a good way of keeping fit and meeting new people.”

And it’s catching on, if her class numbers are any guide.

“We have nearly 100 people turn up on a Friday morning,” Mrs Kolonis said.

U3A Network Victoria President Anne Grigg said the social side was just as important as the learning.

“Most classes have a break in the middle when people have coffee, or they go for coffee afterwards. So it becomes a social hub as well. It’s just fantastic. And now we’re looking at 100,000 people across the country that are involved in U3A activities,” she said.

The importance of learning a new skill or staying socially active in your 50s to stave off potential health problems. Picture: Andrew Tauber

EXERCISE 101s

Exercise can help stave off dementia, prevent bone loss and osteoporosis, but consider:

* Starting slowly under guidance; it can take six to 12 weeks to condition the tendons and muscles

* Getting your technique right to prevent injury

* Exercise snacking: incorporate a routine of different exercises such as single-leg knee bends, sit to stand, single-leg quarter squats and side lunges. Perform them continuously for one minute, then have a one-minute passive recovery break

* Resistance training to improve muscle mass and strength: it can act as a non pharmacological medicine

* Picking an activity you like doing so you look forward to it

• Seeing an Accredited Exercise Physiologist (AEP) who can prescribe and design a safe exercise training program

• Consulting a doctor if you have heart or metabolic (type 2 diabetes) issues before starting

WHEN TO EXERCISE

* Working out for 20 minutes before breakfast allows the body to use stored fat as fuel so you burn more fat.

* Also do a 30-40 minute block of exercise later in the day because muscle strength peaks between 4-6 pm. We burn 10 per cent more calories at this time, even when resting.

* Do not exercise close to bedtime because this will increase the body’s core temperature, raise cortisol levels and delay sleep onset.

* Walking after an evening meal assists in control of blood sugar and weight control.

Source: Body clock expert Professor Russell Foster, of Oxford University.

TRAINING HACKS

• Use household objects such as water bottle for light lifting

• Use a wall or chair to do resistance exercises• create your own fitness routine (by mixing yoga, step ups, push-ups, sit-ups, weightlifting, lunges, calf raises and half squats)

MEDICAL TESTS

A range of free health checks are available:

* Bowel cancer: this screening test should arrive in the mail around your 50th birthday. If you catch this cancer early it is easily treatable.

* Breast cancer: women can have mammograms every two years

* Cervical cancer: women should continue to have regular five yearly tests. New at home self-testing kits are now available.

* Prostate cancer: men who have a father and brothers who have had prostate cancer may want to consider it because they are at higher risk.

* Other tests: a Heart Health Check, blood pressure check, blood sugar check, cholesterol check, skin cancer check, kidney check, eyesight check, bone mineral density check, a dental check up.

– Additional reporting with Andrew Koubaridis