We here like to figure out puzzles...but we have to have pieces to do that!

Meralgia Paresthetica can be due to blood sugar problems and diabetes.
It can be due to a surgery damage that was in the abdominal area.
It can be due to wearing jeans too tightly, with a wallet in that back pocket, and or a too tight belt.

MP is only damage to a sensory nerve. Is your thigh the only place you are having problems? Some hip injury/arthritis may refer to the upper thigh. So will a hernia. Those last two can only be evaluated by a doctor.

This website gives the explanations for your thigh/hip pain...with diagrams.
It is very good:
http://www.aafp.org/afp/20000401/2109.html

A fall or abnormal stretch in an older person, qualifies as an "injury"... you don't have to injure yourself in sports.
Illustration Fig 2B illustrates the femoral nerve distribution, and where it goes, for MP.