Weight Gain in Menopause.

Follow a proper, balanced diet to prevent weight gain in menopause from negatively impacting your mental and physical health.

Menopause brings physical, psychological and emotional changes, including weight gain and symptoms that can affect women’s overall health and well-being.

Weight gain in menopause

Is one of those health concerns that often occurs 3-4 years before the onset of this life stage. The perimenopausal period is often associated with a rapid increase in fat mass due to hormonal changes. The pronounced reduction in oestrogen concentrations that accompanies higher levels of testosterone is a major factor, causing weight gain and redistribution of body fat in women. This is often referred to as a change in female stature from a 'pear' to an 'apple'. If we talk in numbers, 75% of women aged 60 years suffer from abdominal obesity (Ref 1).

The continuous depletion of the follicular ovarian pool during menopausal transition lowers oestrogen production with a relative increase in androgen levels. This hormonal imbalance alters energy homeostasis by regulating hunger and satiety signals (Ref 2).

The complex interplay of multiple factors, such as hormonal changes, less physical activity and potential muscle mass loss, may impact the weight gain process.

Weight gain in menopausal women

Also seems to be related to physiological and behavioural changes associated with ageing, other than to hormonal changes per se. Therefore, weight management is the correct approach. Check our previous article.

Abdominal obesity has been shown to be an independent predictor of cardiovascular disease, dyslipidaemia, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and certain cancers. In addition, the severity of menopausal symptoms is greater in overweight women, so maintaining an appropriate body weight or losing weight leads to a significant improvement in these symptoms, especially hot flushes, mood disturbances and sleep disturbances (Ref 3). 

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