It appears that menopause may influence the way mid-life pounds are distributed. In her book The Wisdom of Menopause (Bantam Books, 2001), Christiane Northrup, M.D., explains that the hormone shifts of menopause may predispose many of us to excess belly fat. It turns out that excess fat distributed around the waist-the classic mid-life “apple” shape-is more metabolically active than fat around the hips and thighs. Generally speaking, the more fat you have around your middle, the more estrogen you are likely to produce. As Dr. Northrup points out, this classic “apple” shape is also associated with increased risk for heart disease, breast and uterine cancer, diabetes, hypertension, and stroke, among numerous other health problems.

Given these hormonal influences, you may wonder if menopausal weight gain is inevitable. Apparently not, according to a growing body of research. It seems that although hormonal factors around menopause may influence weight gain to some degree, this normal life transition is not the true culprit where excess pounds are concerned. Data suggests that the mid-life spread so many women experience around menopause has far more to do with their sedentary lifestyles than with hormonal changes.

A study in the International Journal of Obesity Related Metabolic Disorders (2001 June;25(6):863-73) points out that while the menopausal transition does affect body mass index, the effect is small relative to other influences. Menopausal status, followed by chronological age, appeared to have the least influence on body mass index (BMI), while physical activity level had the greatest impact. Additionally, the journal Menopause (2000 Mar-Apr;7(2):69-70) illustrated that behavioral factors-particularly exercise and alcohol consumption-were more strongly related to mid-life weight gain than the menopause transition.

Continued in Part 3

Kiki

This entry was posted by Kiki Powers, MS, CNC on May 14th, 2007 under Health and Wellness, Mid-Life with keywords .