even bodybuilders who otherwise look pretty good into their 60s, 70s, get hit with the massive waist. anyone know why?
The REAL answer. As we age, the space between out spinal discs compress, which essentially makes the upper torso collapse in on itself. It's sort of like an accordion. This results in everything pretty much getting squashed. NOW, when that happens our organs/intestions get pushed outward as the torso is compressed. THAT'S what gives the impression that our midsection's expand with age. The average man loses 1/4"-1/3" PER decade after 30 (the average woman loses 1/2") and while our vertebrae gets shorter, our midsection gets wider. You see this a lot in older men who appear to be wearing their pants really high, when in actuality, what's making them looking so high is that their upper torso is shorter than it once was and that's the illusion. You can also see it in guys who have had back surgery where their discs have been fused together, or discs have been removed. The late great Roddy Piper was a prime example. He was once a tall guy standing 6'1"-6'2", but due to serious back surgery where they removed a portion of his spine he was down to about 5'8"-5'9" before he died and his stomach appeared to be much larger. It's just that his intestines had less room in his shrunken torso so they had to expand outward.
