In sum , exercise and physical activity can effectively prevent weight gain in older adults and postmenopausal women either in terms of weight loss or maintenance .
They can preserve lean body mass and thus are important for the balance between potentially positive and negative effects of weight reduction in later life .
In addition , since all intervention studies were conducted with an overweight sample , it seems that primordial prevention ( in terms of preventing the development of risk factors such as excess weight in the first place ) might be a neglected issue in geriatric and postmenopausal prevention
This review examines the role of exercise and physical activity for preventing  weight gain in older people .
Maintaining vigorous activity attenuates 7-yr weight gain in 8340 runners.
INTRODUCTION / PURPOSE Body weight generally increases with aging in Western societies . Although training studies show that exercise produces acute weight loss , it is unclear whether the long-term maintenance of vigorous exercise attenuates the trajectory of age-related weight gain . Specifically , prior studies have not tested whether the maintenance of physical activity , in the absence of any change in activity , prevents weight gain . METHODS Prospect i ve study of 6119 male and 2221 female runners whose running distances changed < 5 km x wk(-1 ) between baseline and follow-up surveys 7 yr later . RESULTS On average , men who maintained modest ( 0 - 23 km x wk(-1 ) ) , intermediate ( 24 - 47 km x wk(-1 ) ) , or prolonged running distances ( > or = 48 km x wk(-1 ) ) all gained weight through age 64 ; however , those who maintained > or = 48 km x wk(-1 ) had one half the average annual weight gain of those who maintained < 24 km x wk(-1 ) . For example , between the ages of 35 and 44 in men and 30 and 39 yr in women , those who maintained < 24 km x wk(-1 ) gained , on average , 2.1 and 2.9 kg more per decade than those averaging > 48 km x wk(-1 ) . Age-related weight gain , and its attenuation by maintained exercise , were both greater in younger than in older men . Men 's gains in waist circumference with age , and its attenuation by maintaining running , were the same in older and younger men . Regardless of age , women increased their body weight , waist circumference , and hip circumference over time , and these measurements were attenuated in proportion to their maintained running distance . In both sexes , running disproportionately prevented more extreme increases in weight . CONCLUSION As they aged , men and women gained less weight in proportion to their levels of sustained vigorous activity . This long-term beneficial effect is in addition to the acute weight loss that occurs with increased activity
In sum , exercise and physical activity can effectively prevent weight gain in older adults and postmenopausal women either in terms of weight loss or maintenance .
They can preserve lean body mass and thus are important for the balance between potentially positive and negative effects of weight reduction in later life .
In addition , since all intervention studies were conducted with an overweight sample , it seems that primordial prevention ( in terms of preventing the development of risk factors such as excess weight in the first place ) might be a neglected issue in geriatric and postmenopausal prevention
This review examines the role of exercise and physical activity for preventing  weight gain in older people .