About Menopause Weight Gain

Menopause brings many changes to a woman’s body, and perhaps the most frustrating of these changes is weight gain. Nearly 90 percent of all women will gain weight during menopause. These extra pounds not only lower a woman’s self-esteem and confidence, but they can put her at greater risk for developing serious medical conditions.

It is common for both men and women to gain weight as they age, but women are more likely to gain a few pounds during menopause. Knowing that this weight gain is likely and learning how to prevent it can help a woman keep the gain to a minimum or eliminate it altogether.

What Is Weight Gain?

Weight gain means simply increasing body mass. This increased mass can be from water retention, adding muscle tissue or fat deposits. Most weight gain associated with menopause is from added fat deposits, especially in the abdomen. The average weight gain for menopausal women between the ages of 45 and 55 is 12 to 15 pounds.

Usually, when a woman gains weight it will be distributed evenly throughout her body, but menopausal weight gain tends to concentrate in the abdomen area. Women will notice that their youthful hour-glass figure will slowly begin to look more rounded in the middle. This is typical for most women at this age.

Weight Gain Symptoms

Most women know when their weight changes, so they do not need to be educated about this symptom of menopause. There are, however, some indicators of weight gain that are unique to menopausal weight gain.

Symptoms of menopausal weight gain:

• Body fat percentage increases
• Excess body fat accumulates in the abdomen
• Breast size increases
• Metabolism begins to slow
• Difficulty maintaining a steady weight
• Weight gain without a change in diet or exercise
• Body shape changes from pear to apple

Weight Gain Risks

Most women are concerned about menopausal weight gain due to aesthetic reasons. Adding just a few extra pounds can lower a woman’s confidence and hurt her self-image. Beauty isn’t the only reason to be concerned about menopausal weight gain; it can also lead to serious health risks. The risk factor for many diseases and conditions increases as a woman gains weight.

Gaining weight can put a woman at higher risk of developing the following conditions:

• Stroke
• Heart disease
• Osteoarthritis
• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol
• Kidney disease
• Breast cancer
• Sleep apnea
• Insulin resistance
• Type 2 diabetes
• Increased severity of other menopause symptoms

What Causes Menopausal Weight Gain?

As we age, metabolism naturally slows down, which causes weight gain unless the person adjusts their food and exercise habits. The normal aging process makes a woman more prone to adding extra weight around the midsection, but menopause makes women even more susceptible to weight gain in that particular area. Before menopause starts, a woman’s hormones start to fluctuate to prepare the body for post-menopause when hormone levels are consistently low. This constant fluctuation of hormones makes a woman more likely to gain weight, especially in the midsection.

Weight Gain Due To Hormonal Causes

Body weight is just one thing that hormones control. Here is a list of different hormones and how they each affect body weight during menopause:

Estrogen

During menopause, a woman’s ovaries begin to produce less estrogen. Her body starts to look for the missing estrogen in other parts of the body. Since fat cells can make estrogen, the body works to convert extra calories into fat to increase estrogen production. Unfortunately for the woman, fat cells do not burn calories like muscle cells do, which causes more weight gain.

Progesterone

Decreased progesterone levels cause a woman’s body to retain water. The woman will notice bloating and her clothes fitting tighter. Water weight will come off eventually, but it will cause a temporary weight gain.

Testosterone

This hormone helps a woman’s body to convert calories into muscle mass. Increasing muscle mass helps speed up the metabolism because muscle cells burn more calories at rest than do fat cells. During menopause, testosterone levels drop, and fewer calories are turned into lean muscle tissue. This causes a woman’s metabolism to slow down as more and more muscle is converted into fat.

Androgen

The body produces more of this hormone at the start of menopause. This hormone tells the body to send fat to the abdomen rather than the hips. Since weight is redistributed at menopause due to this hormone, many women refer to their weight gain as a “middle-age spread.”

Insulin resistance

The body can become resistant to insulin at any age, but it is more common during menopause. During this time, the body converts calories into fat, so the body becomes resistant to its own insulin. This is especially damaging after the woman eats processed foods or refined sugar.

Changes In Appetite

Women will experience an increase in appetite as estrogen and progesterone levels drop. One study found that women can consume up to 67 percent more calories per day during menopause. This increase in daily calories along with a slower metabolism causes many menopausal women to gain weight. These two reasons may account for 12 percent more women being overweight during their 40s and 50s than in their 20s and 30s.

Weight Gain And Hypothyroidism

Women who had an underactive thyroid before menopause starts will notice a reduced metabolic rate due to their thyroid being out of balance. Hyperthyroidism can also cause weight gain in rare instances. An underactive thyroid means fewer calories are converted to energy for the body. The body will store these extra calories as fat for later use.

Other Reasons For Weight Gain

Most menopausal weight gain is the direct result of changing hormone levels, but age and lifestyle can also cause women to gain weight.

Weight Gain And Age

Most people reduce their physical activities at age 30, and this decline continues until age 60 or sometimes later. A person’s abilities being to lessen during this time, and the rate of decline depends on the person’s previous activity level and lifestyle. When a person gets less active, or experiences less intensity during physical activity, they burn less calories overall. In addition to this, metabolism naturally slows down after age 30, which causes many people to gain weight.

Weight Gain And Lifestyle

Not only are physical changes working against a woman’s metabolism, her lifestyle can also lead to extra weight gain. Here are some lifestyle factors that can cause a woman to gain weight:

• Decreased physical activity
• Stress
• Change in diet
• Medications
• Consuming alcohol
• Quitting smoking
• Weight Gain Treatments

When treating weight gain, start with the least invasive methods with the fewest side effects. People are more likely to continue using treatments that are easier to incorporate into their lives with minimal disruption.

One of the most popular ways to reduce weight gain is to exercise and eat a healthy diet. This method works for most people, but do not start a diet or change an exercise program without talking to a doctor. Eat a balanced diet full of healthy foods and limit portion size.

Alternative medicines can also be used to slow weight gain and help lose any pounds that were added during menopause. Since menopausal weight gain is due to hormone fluctuations, balancing hormone levels is likely to produce the best results. Herbal supplements that affect natural hormone levels typically have the best results to stall weight gain.

Some women will experience weight gain even after making the necessary lifestyle changes and using alternative medicines. Liposuction and diet pills may be an option for these women. Both of these methods have risks and side effects, so they should only be used as a last resort. Talk to a doctor about the potential benefits and risks before undergoing surgery or taking a diet pill.

Weight Gain Trivia

A woman’s metabolism will slow down by 5 percent each decade. This means menopausal women will need to consume about 200 fewer calories per day to maintain their weight, and less to lose weight.