What is it with midriff weight gain and menopause?.
I recently read a research paper which looked at the role of estrogen deficiency and the origin of obesity in menopause. Weight gain is a question I get asked a lot.
Where you store body fat is a function of both genetic and epigenetic factors - genetic means inherited, and epigenetic means the lifestyle and other factors which influence how our genes are ‘expressed'. Factors which influence weight and body shape include appetite and satiety (feeling ‘full’ after eating); blood glucose levels, basal metabolic rate - or your ‘metabolism’ and the quantity & location of fat cells. Our hormones also play a big role, and changes do occur as we transition through the menopause.
Many women experience a big change around the menopause - and it feels as it without changing diet or lifestyle factors, we start to thicken around the midriff - so what’s going on?
This paper pointed to a few factors at play:
Estradiol is a powerful influencer in helping the body to break down fat to use an energy source.
Estrogens influence the lotion of fat deposits - and the loss of estrogen is associated with the shift in many women from subcutaneous fat to visceral fat deposits.
Estrogen plays a role in satiety (feeling full after eating) and hence the reduction of estrogen can influence recognition of being ‘full'
So what does this mean in summary? It implies that our bodies can become less ‘efficient' at breaking down fat cells for energy source; that the loss of estrogen changes where we store fat, and we start to store more fat around out middle; and that it’s harder to recognise when you’ve eaten enough.
But before you despair - there are multiple actions you can take to help manage this transition to a new phase - including food, movement and exercise and ensuring that you are supplementing where needed. Moving to menopause does not mean that you are destined to put on weight - but it does mean your body is changing, and understanding what and how it is changing can help you to take the steps to help that process.
An no that doesn’t mean going on a diet!
If you would like to talk about body shape concerns over menopause drop me a line on caroline@carolinekeatinge.com
