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Bloating is one of those things that can affect you at any age, but unfortunately, it can become a whole lot more common as our bodies get older, thanks to a few key physical changes and conditions that tend to affect older adults.
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"There is a clear link with aging and bloating," Christine Lee, MD, a gastroenterologist at the Cleveland Clinic, tells LIVESTRONG.com. "There are multiple reasons that play a role."
We investigate those reasons here, and then offer five tips to beat the bloat.
1. A Slowed Metabolism
As we age, our metabolism slows, Dr. Lee says, which leads to slower gastrointestinal motility — the speed at which food moves through the body.
As motility reduces, the amount of gas we produce stays the same, but the rate of elimination decreases. "As we eat, things actually slow down in our intestinal tract, and as this happens, fermentation produces gases," Dr. Lee explains. "These are all normal, natural processes, but [slower motility] allows gas to accumulate more because everything is slowing down."
If we aren't passing gas as quickly as we used to, it can build up, leading to that uncomfortable bloated feeling.
2. Muscle Loss
We lose muscle mass and tone as we age. This contributes to the slowing of our metabolisms and also affects gut motility.
"Your bowels themselves have a muscular lining in them," says Richard Wender, MD, chief of family medicine and community health at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. "Just like every other muscle, it just doesn't function as well in many people over time."
This puts older adults at a higher risk for constipation, which is a major cause of bloating.
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3. Medications
As we age, we are more likely to develop chronic health conditions like high blood pressure or heart disease that require medications. Unfortunately many of these can cause digestive problems, Dr. Wender says.
"Some are diuretic (they take water away), and some of them decrease your heart rate. All of these things can contribute to constipation, which increases bloating," says Dr. Lee.
What's more, surgical procedures like hip or knee replacements require narcotic pain medication, which is a common cause of digestive problems.
And the older you are, the more likely you are to have had multiple courses of antibiotics, which kill off some of the good bacteria in your gut along with the bad bacteria they were prescribed to you for, Dr. Lee says. This good gut flora naturally helps to decrease and eliminate gas, so running low can lead to more hot air hanging out in your system and — you guessed it — more bloating.
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Decoding Your Gut: The Ultimate Guide to the Microbiome, Digestive Issues and More
4. Menopause and Pelvic Floor Problems
Menopause leads to further slowing of the metabolism and muscle loss.
"A lot of women don't realize that there are estrogen receptors in your bowel. At menopause (when your hormone levels change), it's not unusual to have some change in bowel function, as your gut gets used to these hormonal alterations," Dr. Wender says. "Bloating in particular is well known around menopause."
People over 40 (especially those assigned female at birth) may also have pelvic floor dysfunction caused by muscle loss — particularly if they've given birth, says dietitian Tamara Duker Freuman, RD, author of The Bloated Belly Whisperer.
"There is a pretty high incidence of pelvic floor dysfunction where you can be constipated because your pelvic floor muscles don't work as well, or they're not coordinated properly," Duker Freuman says. "As they age, that can catch up with women in particular and cause incomplete defecation. This leads to constipation and bloating as well."
