Prince Philip's pants

[H.Johnson]

10 Kg for every ten years??? Are you sure about that figure? That means that a man of 80 would weigh 135 pounds more than he did at 20. That seems incredible to me. Is it true?

 

[tonyb]

Forgive me for pointing this out, but there is no reason (other than a reduction in activity and an increase in food consumption) why a man should not fit into the same clothes in his eighties as he did in his youth.

No reason whatsoever, eh? None at all?

http://www.healthinaging.org/AGINGINTHEKNOW/chapters_ch_trial.asp?ch=1

 

[H.Johnson]

You mean the section of that website that says,"In men, body weight generally increases until their mid-fifties; then it decreases, with weight being lost faster in their late sixties and seventies. In women, body weight increases until the late sixties and then decreases at a rate slower than that of men"? [My underlining]

I know many men in their eighties who are lighter and thinner than they were in their fifties, which appears to bear this out. Equally, I know a number of men in my own age group (sixties) who are no larger than they were in their twenties. I can only speak personally, but I still wear jeans (30 waist 32 leg) that I bought in my teens. I would fully expect to be able to fit into the same clothes in my eighties. In fact they will probably be too loose, as both my father and grandfather lost weight in their seventies.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

Now, I'm comfortable in a 36-inch waist, although a 35 is OK (yes, you can get some brands in odd-numbered sizes) and a 34 would do in a pinch (it might pinch me itself), but I'd definitely skip dessert.

dont you know anything, skin-tight jeans are it "it" thing

 

[tonyb]

You mean the section of that website that says,"In men, body weight generally increases until their mid-fifties; then it decreases, with weight being lost faster in their late sixties and seventies. In women, body weight increases until the late sixties and then decreases at a rate slower than that of men"? [My underlining]

I know many men in their eighties who are lighter and thinner than they were in their fifties, which appears to bear this out. Equally, I know a number of men in my own age group (sixties) who are no larger than they were in their twenties. I can only speak personally, but I still wear jeans (30 waist 32 leg) that I bought in my teens. I would fully expect to be able to fit into the same clothes in my eighties. In fact they will probably be too loose, as both my father and grandfather lost weight in their seventies.

Consider yourself fortunate, but don't pretend to an expertise you don't actually have. There isn't a person here who couldn't offer his own anecdotes. But making blanket assertions ("there is no reason") based on nothing more substantial than that, well, that's just plain wrong.

 

[H.Johnson]

I don't consider myself fortunate - there is nothing special about being thin or being fat, it's just the way people are.

Thank you for your correction. If you read my original posting, you will see that I actually said. 'No reason other than a reduction in activity and an increase in food consumption'.

I take it you have medical qualifications to be so authoritative?

Consider yourself fortunate, but don't pretend to an expertise you don't actually have. There isn't a person here who couldn't offer his own anecdotes. But making blanket assertions ("there is no reason") based on nothing more substantial than that, well, that's just plain wrong.

 

[tonyb]

I don't consider myself fortunate - there is nothing special about being thin or being fat, it's just the way people are.

Thank you for your correction. If you read my original posting, you will see that I actually said. 'No reason other than a reduction in activity and an increase in food consumption'.

I take it you have medical qualifications to be so authoritative?

No I don't, but neither do you, obviously. That still doesn't change the simple truth that, contrary to what you wrote, there are indeed reasons other than "a reduction in activity and in increase in food consumption why a man should not fit into the same clothes in his eighties as he did in his teens." This is indeed what you "actually said." And it's wrong.

 

[H.Johnson]

OK, I'm wrong by generalising, for which I apologise. Studies in the US do bear out what you say (e.g http://www.lbl.gov/Science-Articles/Archive/spare-tire.html).

I can only say that this is so different to my own experience and observation of men in their 80s in England. I think it may be a cultural thing. I don't think HRH is that unusual in this country for a man of his age group and lifestyle. I suggest that 'the obesity problem' hadn't arrived when that generation was growing old. Diet and excercise, perhaps.

I work frequently in Asia, by the way, and it is quite clear in most Asian countries that men get much thinner as they get older, so the phenomenon of weight/size gain with age is by no means universal.

UK government guidelines on health and ageing include the following (summarised):

"The following aging and lifestyle factors play a big role in your changing body composition, including:
- Exercising less.
- Eating more.
- Burning fewer calories. The number of calories you need for energy decreases as you age because aging promotes the replacement of muscle with fat. Muscle burns more calories than fat does. When your body composition shifts to more fat and less muscle, your metabolism slows down.
- Genetic factors may play a role in weight gain as well. If your parents and other close relatives carry extra weight around the abdomen, you may be predisposed to do so, too".

I neglected to include the last two factors, for which I apologise.

No I don't, but neither do you, obviously. That still doesn't change the simple truth that, contrary to what you wrote, there are indeed reasons other than "a reduction in activity and in increase in food consumption why a man should not fit into the same clothes in his eighties as he did in his teens." This is indeed what you "actually said." And it's wrong.

 

[BellyTank]

H Johnson, I admire your politeness.
Another area where others can learn from you.

If by any chance, those trou' didn't fit HRH in his middle years, I'm sure they have stayed in the closet until they did... again.


B
T

 

[Hal]

H Johnson, I admire your politeness.
Another area where others can learn from you.
B
T

Hear, hear!

For my entire working life my weight remained constant at roughly 75kg (11st11lb); I have always been able to eat as much as I like without putting on weight. Since retirement it has stabilised at 71-2kg: when I remarked, during a hospital appointment, that I had lost weight since retiring, I was told "that is quite usual". The sizes of my clothes have remained the same for 45 years.
I completely agree with H.Johnson in when he considers the term "fortunate" in this respect.

 

[Mrs. Merl]

Studies indicate that metabolism naturally slows after the age of 30...so I think it pretty natural for people to find themselves larger later in life. Though I will agree not to the extremes we see in modern society.

Anyway, I thought this thread was about pants?

 

[BellyTank]

I myself, have put on weight since my '30s and now seem to be plateau-ing, at around '40 years.
I'm definitely expecting the weight to go, as I reach my '60s and later.
Family trends in weight and age are a good pointer to what will happen to YOU.
Fast food and lazy lifestyle are the tell-tale problem of this era, though.



B
T

 

[BellyTank]

Anyway, I thought this thread was about pants?

About Pants?

This thread IS Pants.


B
T

 

[tonyb]

Fast food and lazy lifestyle are the tell-tale problem of this era, though.



B
T

Certainly seems to be the case on this side of the world.

We all know that bacon double cheeseburgers are loaded with calories and fat and that a regular diet of that sort of thing very often leads to obesity and heart disease. But still, so many of us continue eating that stuff -- regularly. Over here, you don't even have to get out of your car to procure it.

So, a lousy diet, and very little exercise. And you gotta wonder why, despite knowing what we know, we continue doing what we do.

I submit that the human capacity for denial is very much in evidence. You know, bad things happen to other people. And that for every message we receive warning us away from fatty foods and a sedentary lifestyle, we get, oh, several hundred others urging us to do just the opposite. (Burgers for a buck, at our convenient drive-thru window!)

But some of us are confronted with circumstances that trump denial.

In my case, that happened in '06. Haven't had a hamburger (or anything of that sort) since then. And I instantly quit a several-decades-long, heavy cigarette habit. Dropped a substantial amount of weight and became a regular presence at the gym.

Still, when I catch a whiff of a hamburger, I'm tempted. And at stressful moments I still find myself wanting a smoke. But then I remind myself that dead guys don't smoke anyway. At least not for long.

 

[H.Johnson]

I think the good thing about web forums is that they, like travel, put you in touch with people who lead very different lifestyles and have different problems and pursuits from you.

This thread has really opened my eyes and exposed me to something (weight gain in old age) about which I knew nothing and that still (after some Googling) seems very strange and different to me. It hasn't happened to me or my family and has only applied to my friends (age group 60 - 90) who choose to live a particularly hedonistic 'lifestyle' (as I believe it is called nowadays) in whcih food consumption exceeds activity. I can assure you that, even with his recent chest infection, HRH is a very active old man.

For me, the thread has challenged some things (that your appetite declines and that most men lose weight and get thinner after middle age) that I have taken for granted throughout my life. I like that sort of thing - that you're never to old to learn.

I suspect that Prince Phillip would feel the same.

 

[dit dah]

Shame the Prince's son isn't as thrifty. He's probably got pants/ trou/ trews/ breeches made from organic wheat paid for with his enormous and ever increasing budget and from the proceeds of his over priced but very scrummy organic biscuits (cookies).

 

[Tomasso]

Shame the Prince's son isn't as thrifty.

Well, the Prince did make a recent switch from Anderson & Sheppard (bespoke) to Turnbull & Asser (made-to-measure) in a cost cutting effort, saving around £1500 per suit.



And IIRC, he has several recycled garments in his wardrobe; clothes that were previously worn by his late Uncle Dickie and re-cut for him.

 

[BellyTank]

Uncle Dickie's hand-me-downs, eh..?


B
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[Matt Deckard]

That's a pretty cool story, though I would go the reverse route if it was possible. Too bad fabric can't be added at the seems. I do think a bigger drape works better for his trousers and legs... that sway just ads something.

 

[GBR]

He is as thrifty - though the press has not latched on to it ( and that is the only reason we are discussing this at all) many of his suits are old and I suspect go back to his grandfather, His Late Majesty, King George VI.

Shame the Prince's son isn't as thrifty. He's probably got pants/ trou/ trews/ breeches made from organic wheat paid for with his enormous and ever increasing budget and from the proceeds of his over priced but very scrummy organic biscuits (cookies).