Is Menopause and Weight Gain For Women Aged Over 40 Linked?

Most women over 40 and especially those in their 50's will tell you that they find menopause and weight gain to be linked together. It is a common time to put on weight and some of it can be due to lifestyle changes. It doesn't explain the reason why you are gaining weight around your abdomen, whereas in your younger years you may have found that you gained weight around the hip area.

Menopause and Weight Gain - is it a myth?

The actual truth is that hormonal changes do have a part to play in this. At menopause a woman stops ovulating, her monthly periods end and her body now produces much lower levels of the female hormone estrogen, which was responsible for the ovulation process. Low estrogen has been attributed to weight gain and it is the most likely reason why our bodies change shape. Most woman of childbearing age tend to store fat in their lower body, after menopause they store it in the abdomen area. This one fact can lead to a greater risk of developing heart disease.

When women hit their 40's and 50's they usually slow down with their exercise routines and will experience their muscle turning into fat. At this time your metabolism slows down, so you really want to adjust your eating habits to prevent your body from gaining too much weight. As you age you just do not require as many calories as you did when you were 20.

Many women may be using hormone therapy and link this to their weight gain, but studies have shown that hormone therapy does not cause weight gain. So you can not really link menopause and weight gain together as a cause. You many experience temporary bloating due to water retention when you first start hormone therapy but this will not last more than a couple of weeks.

If you find you are gaining weight during menopause, there are numerous things you can do.

Make sure you are eating a healthy low fat diet, including extra fiber and stay away from too much sugar, alcohol and caffeine.

As you age it is natural to slow down with your physical activity. You now have no kids to run around after. You probably take less active vacations and just over all take these more slowly. Even your job becomes less physically demanding for you.

By taking just 30 minutes each day to do some type of activity you can easily balance out the effect of your weight gain. Walking is a great activity as it uses your large muscle groups and is easy on your joints. Cycling is another great activity that many older people like to take up.

Understand that the shape of your body will change and accept these changes. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle with great eating habits and moderate exercise is going to be really beneficial to you and will help combat the menopause and weight gain syndrome.