Does menopause cause middle age spread ?
Peri-menopause (the 8 years leading up to the last menstrual cycle) and menopause (the year after the last period) is associated with weight gain around the trunk/ waist. The perimenopause can start as young as 42 years of age or as late as the early 50s.
Thus your 40s might be the first time you notice your waist thickening (apart from pregnancy!). It can be very distressing seeing your body change like this – for some people it seems completely out of the blue and unexplained.
Weight gain around your middle is more of a health concern than excess weight elsewhere on the body. This is part of the reason a woman’s risk of metabolic health conditions (such as heart disease, high blood pressure, fatty liver and diabetes) increases after menopause.
Why does this gain happen?
The menopause transition is associated with an overall reduction in the hormone estrogen; it is the decrease in this hormone that moves weight gain to the middle of the body. Research suggests that the decrease in estrogen also causes a reduction in total energy expenditure (that is, you burn fewer calories than you did as a younger adult).
So…the menopause transition means less estrogen ….and because of that, women can be at greater risk of gain weight during this time and the weight gained is around the waist, which is a risk for long-term future health.
Treatment of peri-menopause and menopause may help stop the associated weight gain and/or reverse it.
Dr Terri-Lynne understands all the influences of weight control and metabolic health. She has extensive experience in women’s health and has been a member of the Australian Menopause Society since 2016.
Peri-menopause and menopause is associated with weight gain around the middle but is the not the sole cause of increasing kilograms.
Hormonal influences, including menopause transition status, is part of a comprehensive overall weight, health and metabolic assessment conducted by Dr Terri-Lynne.
Treatment of peri-menopause symptoms may be one part of a considered holistic treatment plan and possibly an over-looked area in the past.
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