Aibu to think as you get older being a bit fatter looks better?

5 '8' and 140lb is a BMI of 21, not of 23.

Well a healthy weight generally looks better than underweight yes

I’m 5’9 and 131 pounds. My face is fine. Even if it wasn’t, if I put on weight, it’d never go to my face - it would head straight to my belly. No thanks.

The trouble with Barbara’s advice is that if one isn’t doing anything to maintain muscle mass, ‘sitting down’ will become somewhat permanent, without the option to do much else.

My muscles show; sometimes veins too if I’ve just finished a workout. I’m not skinny though, just lean. I would probably look younger in the face if I was a bit fat but I don’t want to be a bit fat, I like being strong and muscular. I’m also trying to ‘future proof’, ie mitigate against osteoporosis and make sure I can get up of the floor if I ‘have a fall’.

I am petite build but my weight goes on my boobs and belly. I have always looked better at the low end of the bmi scale. That is my natural weight though and even at 55, I don’t have to work v hard to stay slim. Beauty is subjective and I am not sure one rule can apply to all.

Urgh, what horrible misogynistic drivel that BC quote is.

I think we're all different. I'm tall and look dreadful if I'm carrying extra weight. A lot of it is down to posture as well - there's nothing as ageing as stooped shoulders. Fit, active people generally look younger, whether they're skinny or not.

No. Now I’m gaining muscle my face looks far better than it did when I was overweight. It’s changed shape almost.

If it's specifically looking at geriatric outcomes, it would be interesting to know to what extent cause and effect are in play. That is - lower BMI - statistically more chance of dying - but is that because many terminal conditions result in a loss of weight before you die?

My mum has combined dementia, she's in her 80s and her weight has fallen to about 5 stone (she's 5' 1) because she's lost all interest in eating due to the dementia. She's in full time care and they try to get nutrition into her but without force-feeding there's only so much they can do.

I have always had quite a chubby face and oily skin. Ive always hated it, but I think those 2 things potentially make me age slightly better. (Im late 40s) I am trying to do strength training regularly to help keep stronger, in old age.

At least it was phrased better than "I like a woman with a bit of meat on her"

Behold, a man has arrived.

🤣

Advice to you lad, follow Jameela Jamil

It's not just about weight though as you get older. Muscle tone is important. If sarcopenia sets in then you can lose a lot of strength in arms and legs affecting balance etc. Being slim and exercising along with a healthy diet should be the norm and keeping a healthy weight should be about this and not about looks.

Everyone’s different. Some people do look better with a bit of chub and they genuinely look like chemo patients when they reach a certain age and are gaunt looking. Other people manage to rock it just fine and actually being overweight ages them. Peter Kay looks absolutely awful since he lost weight.

It's not the case for me. I don't like the look of my bigger cheeks and I hate my disproportionately big stomach.
I'm still a normal BMI but I wish I was like a tube of toothpaste and could squeeze a lot of my abdominal fat round to give me a curvier bottom.
I hate not being able to wear pretty much anything I like because I'm always trying to disguise my stomach these days.
I got asked if I was pregnant twice in my mid to late 50s, so perhaps I do look a bit younger 😄 but I'd rather have the ability to eat what I like and not put on weight, that I used to have up to the menopause, than have slightly fewer wrinkles.

My GP said a bit of extra weight. I guess if it’s just a few pounds then the risks are pretty low.

Barbara Cartland once said ‘After forty a woman has to choose between losing her figure or her face. My advice is to keep your face, and stay sitting down.’

I’m pretty sure I read somewhere that people over 60 should aim for a bmi of 23 to be healthy - any less is underweight as you get older, apparently.

I'm 5'8"and look best at a bmi of about 23 or about 140 lbs.

Now I'm in my 60s I have to run twice a week to stay at that weight but I also feel so much healthier when I do.

This is interesting, I'm still not sure we're seeing the full picture. Just speaking from my own observations, nothing scientific, if we're looking at 65+ many very overweight people suffering from diabetes and CV disease don't make it to that age so the sample size is effectively the more metabolically healthy people who are left.

Oh for sure. Most older people look better being a bit fuller in the face. I lost a lot of weight at one point (unintentionally) and was right down the lowest end of my healthy BMI range and it aged me terribly.

The geriatric BMI calculator (great name!)is based on research that shows your chances of dying of anything increase with low BMI. It kicks in at 65 and basically allows a higher BMI as an indicator of better outcomes.

https://www.omnicalculator.com/health/geriatric-bmi#why-is-bmi-not-accurate-for-elderly

Again, are we taking about heavy vs underweight or heavy vs normal BMI?

Did the studies show what the extra weight does to the risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer?

Extra body weight places a constant, heavier physical load on the skeleton. Bones respond to this higher load by increasing in density and strength.

Fat tissue produces small amounts of oestrogen which helps slow down the rapid bone loss that happens after menopause.

Statistical studies show that heavier postmenopausal women have a lower prevalence of osteoporosis and fewer hip fractures linked to low bone mass.

Being overweight is ageing esp in tour 40s+. That middle aged spread makes people look older for sure, have a chubbier face might smooth out wrinkles but IMO it does not make people look younger

Being a healthy weight is much more youthful looking, the weights most people are talking about, esp first few posters were very low to start with and now they are heavier are still low end of BMI so it makes sense they look good.

I have lost 4stone recently, was BMI 28 and now BMI 19, I looked middle aged and frumpy before with a bloated looking face, double chin and round belly. I now have visible cheek bones, slim arms, defined tummy (not like a 20 yos but flat at least). I am 46 and dont look older than I did.

If i was underweight it may not look good but anything ove BMI 24 on me looks awful as I am a small build.