Menopausal Weight Gain Isn't Inevitable
If you're a woman embarking on the journey through menopause, you probably realize that the change of life will be challenging. The good news is that by the end of the trip, the most annoying symptoms, including hot flashes and night sweats, will be gone.
The bad news is that the weight gain that typically accompanies the menopausal transition may be a little harder to shake. If you don't take measures to prevent it, you could end up with a 10- to 15-pound souvenir.
While there's little doubt that menopausal women have a tendency to pack on extra pounds, experts believe that hormonal changes aren't solely to blame: It's likely that a number of factors contribute to the problem.
Advancing age is one of those factors. The prevalence of obesity in adult women rises significantly with each passing decade, until it begins to taper off late in life.
Studies show that, on average, women gain about a pound a year after the age of 40. The greatest increases in weight normally occur during the time of menopause.
As weight creeps up, body composition and fat distribution patterns begin to change. With each passing year, the percentage of body fat tends to increase, while the percentage of lean muscle mass tends to decline.
Loss of lean muscle mass worsens the problem of weight gain, since muscle burns more calories than fat, even when the body is at rest. As muscle tissue dwindles away, the metabolic rate begins to slow, and the body requires fewer calories than it once did.
Mature women who don't cut back on their calorie consumption have more than double the risk of experiencing substantial weight gain, according to the results of a three-year study recently published in the American Journal of Health Promotion. For the study, Brigham Young University researchers analyzed food intake and weight gain patterns of 192 women with an average age of 40.
The scientists found that women who made an effort to eat less were 69 percent less likely to gain more than 2.2 pounds. Women who didn't practice restraint in their eating habits were 138 percent more likely to gain a substantial amount of weight — 6.6 pounds or more — over the three-year period.
While pre-menopausal women often struggle with fat deposits around their hips and thighs, much of the newly acquired fat in menopausal women is deposited around the waist. As it turns out, excess fat deposits in the abdominal region are far more worrisome than a little extra padding around the hips and thighs.
Abdominal obesity is known to boost the risk of a number of dangerous diseases. In women, a waist circumference of 35 inches or greater increases the chances of developing type 2 diabetes, heart disease and certain cancers.
If night sweats interrupt your sleep on a regular basis, you're even more likely to gain weight during the menopausal years. A growing body of scientific evidence suggests that sleep deprivation results in significantly lower blood levels of leptin, an appetite-suppressing hormone, while it drives up levels of grehlin, a hormone that stimulates appetite and a craving for high-carbohydrate, calorie-rich foods.
Although weight gain during menopause is common, it isn't inevitable. The best way to avoid packing on extra pounds is to eat a nutritious, well-balanced diet and stay as active as you can.
If you're like most mature women, you'll probably need to eat smaller portions and consume fewer calories, especially around the time of menopause. At the age of 50, you may require approximately 200 fewer calories per day than you did when you were in your 20s.
While you're watching what you eat, it's also a good idea to spend more time exercising. You don't have to join a gym or train for a marathon — accumulating just 30 minutes of moderate-intensity activity on most days of the week is all it takes to derive significant health benefits from exercise.
With sound nutrition, caloric restriction and regular physical activity, menopausal weight gain is not only preventable, it's also reversible. A weight loss of just 10 pounds can lower blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar levels — reducing your risk for diabetes, heart disease and stroke.
Menopause can be a challenging time of life, but it's also an excellent opportunity to improve your health. If you make up your mind to upgrade your eating and exercising habits, the change of life can be a change for the better.
Rallie McAllister is a board-certified family physician, speaker and the author of several books, including "Healthy Lunchbox: The Working Mom's Guide to Keeping You and Your Kids Trim." Her website is www.rallieonhealth.com. To find out more about Rallie McAllister, M.D., and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.
COPYRIGHT 2009 CREATORS SYNDICATE INC.
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