AARP Hearing Center
Want a flatter stomach after 50? It’s not a vain goal.
Accumulating research finds that extra weight in the midsection is linked to a number of health issues, from heart disease and type 2 diabetes to cancer and more. In fact, doctors say that if your waist measures more than 35 inches for women and more than 40 inches for men, you likely have an unhealthy amount of belly fat and are at a higher risk for all the health problems that come with it.
AARP Membership— $12 for your first year when you sign up for Automatic Renewal
Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine.
Of particular concern is what’s known as visceral fat. This is not the kind of fat you can pinch on the surface — the love handles, so to speak. It’s fat deep within the abdominal cavity that pads the organs and causes the stomach to protrude.
Biologically speaking, this type of fat is “very active,” says Francisco Lopez-Jimenez, M.D., a cardiologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. It generates inflammation, a risk factor for heart disease, and secretes hormones and chemicals that can promote insulin resistance, a precursor to type 2 diabetes.
Trim down your belly and you can cut your risks for these health problems. But what’s the best way to do it without the help of weight loss medications, which can come with high costs and unwanted side effects?
Unfortunately, we can’t pick and choose where we lose our fat, says Sajani Shah, M.D., chief of minimally invasive and bariatric surgery at Tufts Medical Center in Boston. In other words, achieving a leaner midsection can’t be solved by spot training with 1,000 daily crunches. That said, when people shed weight, they tend to lose fat from the belly first. “They may notice that the belly shrinks even before they notice changes in the face or other parts of the body,” Lopez-Jimenez says.
Here are 25 tips on how to lose belly fat and get a flatter stomach at 50 and beyond.
1. Pass on processed foods
The “No. 1 cause” of dangerous belly fat is ultraprocessed foods — your fast food combos, packaged snacks and frozen pizzas, says Mark Cucuzzella, M.D., a professor in the department of family medicine at the West Virginia University School of Medicine in Morgantown, who studies diet-related diseases.
Because these foods are stripped of nutrients and fiber, the body digests them quickly, causing a spike in blood sugar. Over time these spikes can lead to insulin resistance and weight gain. “Visceral fat is triggered by insulin resistance,” Cucuzzella says.
Not to mention, these hyperpalatable foods — often high in fat and calories — are easy to overeat. Many older adults find them addicting, research supported by AARP shows.
A study published in 2023 in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that adults who had a higher intake of ultraprocessed food were more likely to have excess fat, especially in the abdomen. Similarly, research published in 2021 found that higher consumption of ultraprocessed foods was associated with greater accumulation of visceral fat.
2. Cut 500 calories a day
“The easiest way to start to lose weight around your abdomen is to be in a calorie deficit,” Shah says. This means you need to burn more calories than you consume.
While exercise is an important part of the weight-loss puzzle, a big focus should be on your diet, Shah says. After all, you can sabotage 60 minutes on the treadmill in 60 seconds with a piece of cake.
To lose about a pound a week — which is what is considered a safe and realistic amount — aim to cut 500 calories a day, she says.
3. Pile on the protein
One thing you’ll want to eat more of if you’re trying to lose belly fat is protein. It has fewer calories per gram than fat, Shah says, so you get more bang for your buck. Protein also keeps you feeling full longer. “So you’re not going to be hungry, you’re not going to be reaching for the next snack in a couple of hours, and you’re going to hopefully eat less if you’re filling up on protein first,” Shah adds.
Another plus: Protein helps you maintain muscle as your body burns fat. This is especially important for older adults, who are susceptible to age-related muscle loss.
Several studies suggest that consuming more protein is associated with a reduction in abdominal fat, including a clinical trial published in 2021 that found that men age 65 and older who ate more protein than the recommended daily amount over six months saw a significant loss of belly fat.
It’s recommended that older adults consume about 1 gram of protein per 2.2 pounds of body weight, or approximately 68 grams for someone who is 150 pounds. However, some nutritional scientists suggest that older adults aim for closer to 90 grams of protein each day.
Good sources of protein include eggs, fish, poultry and low-fat dairy products, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
4. Watch for sneaky sources of sugar
If you want to lose belly fat, you’ve got to scale back on added sugar. “Anything that’s going to have a huge increase of your insulin and your blood sugar, that can be problematic” when it comes to belly fat, says Kristin Kirkpatrick, a dietitian in the department of wellness and preventive medicine at the Cleveland Clinic. These spikes signal the body to store fat, and research shows it often goes straight to the abdomen.
Foods high in added sugar also leave you feeling hungry not long after eating them, Lopez-Jimenez says, causing you to consume more calories.
The problem is: Added sugar isn’t just in candy and doughnuts. It sneaks into a variety of unsuspecting foods — from condiments to store-bought bread and cereal.
To identify added sugars, Harvard Health Publishing says to keep an eye out for the following names: corn syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, corn sweetener, fruit juice concentrate and syrup sugar molecules ending in “ose” (dextrose, fructose, glucose, lactose, maltose, sucrose).
5. Limit alcohol
Alcohol contributes to a growing midsection in a few ways. For starters, alcohol is empty calories, and a single serving of some drinks contains as many calories as a meal. Drinking can also lower your inhibitions and lead to poor food choices. You may find you’re more likely to order a side of fries after a second glass of wine or to opt for a plate of nachos with your beer. What’s more, alcohol interferes with your body’s ability to burn fat. According to the Cleveland Clinic, the liver plays an important role in burning fat, but when you drink, it burns the alcohol first. “I have female patients who are even drinking what we would consider from government standards moderate drinking, so a glass of wine every night with dinner. They cut that glass of wine out, their belly goes down,” Kirkpatrick says.
6. Nix sugary beverages
Federal data shows that nearly half of all U.S. adults consume at least one sugar-sweetened beverage a day, and some consume three or more. That’s bad news for our bellies, since research has found that people who consume a higher number of sugar-sweetened beverages — sodas, juices, sports drinks and sweetened coffees and teas — have more abdominal fat, including the dangerous visceral fat. In one study, a team led by researchers at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health in Minneapolis analyzed the association between long-term sugar consumption and fat deposits around the heart and in the abdomen. Looking at data from more than 3,000 adults, they found that higher intakes of sugar-sweetened beverages and other added sugars over 20 years were related to greater fat stores in the belly and around the heart later in life.
“Our findings provide more evidence that consuming too much added sugar and sugary drinks is related to a higher amount of fat tissue,” study co-author Lyn Steffen said in a statement. “And we know that fat deposits are connected with higher risks of heart disease and diabetes.”
You Might Also Like
Try These Tips for Living a Healthier Life
Small changes can add up to big mental and physical results
Easy Ways to Convert Unused Space in Your Home into a Working Gym
Use space you already have to create an exercise area
10 Expert Tips on How to Cut Back on Alcohol
More and more people are sober curious, toying with the notion of drinking less. Here’s how to get started.
Recommended for You