Unpacking Menopause And Weight gain BY CATHERINE MCKENNA
M
enopause should be a reason to bust out the bubbly and celebrate the end of periods, period pain, leaking, mood swings and for any women living with daughters or other women, shark week. However, most women will report that menopause has been the cause of unwanted fat that has besieged their bodies. It’s not fair that menopause can deliver a coup de grace of kilos after all we’ve been through. But is menopause really to blame for our middle-aged expansion? What do we know? We know women tend to gain weight around menopause. Also, we know most Australians don’t meet the exercise recommendations. Plus, we lose muscle as we age, and we don’t make a compensatory reduction in our diets. These four factors are the perfect storm for weight gain. Let’s examine these points in detail. Firstly, between 45 and 55, women gain an average of half a kilo a year and a total of 2.3 kg during perimenopause. Unfortunately, the decline in oestrogen tends to shift fat from our hips, butts and thighs to our waistlines. The hormonal changes that accompany menopause are associated with increases in total body fat and abdominal fat, even in lean women but not necessarily weight gain.
Dr Mia Schaumberg
Dr Mia Schaumberg is a Senior Lecturer in Physiology at the University of the Sunshine Coast. She says that without the protective effect of oestrogen after menopause, more fat, that is, adipose tissue, is deposited around the waist. The problem with adipose tissue is that it produces adipokines, molecules that are associated with chronic inflammation.
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