60+ minutes of exercise per day to maintain weight after age 50

[emily_in_nc]

I'm convinced that being largely car-free in NYC is the reason I haven't experienced (or seen much of) mid-life weight gain.

Very good point, Pam. My mom lived in Manhattan car-free from her early 40s to early 50s and kept the weight off fine. She walked all the time. Once she moved back to North Carolina and to a car-based, suburban lifestyle, the pounds started coming on rather quickly, and she's never been able to get them off -- she's 78 now. She also quit smoking around the same time, which was certainly part of it, but the change from an active lifestyle to a much more sedentary one was obviously a major factor.