I’m Not Doing Anything Different
Why Am I Gaining Weight?
"I haven’t changed what I’m doing or eating, why have I put on weight around my belly?"
Weight gain is one of the most common complaints from women in midlife. You are not alone!
On average, visceral belly fat accounts for 15 to 20% of body weight in post-menopause, compared with 5 to 8% in premenopausal women. So, what is going on?
First, we have to acknowledge the complexity of our body weight. Body weight is not simply a function of what we eat. We all know this but let’s really acknowledge it is the result of a complex interaction of factors, including:
- socioeconomic status,
- education level,
- social cultures,
- presence or absence of food security,
- genetics, and a whole lot more.
Why we make certain food choices, and how they impact us physically, are difficult questions without straightforward answers. We can spend forever breaking this down. Knowing this however, can help us be kinder to ourselves and allow us to remove the judgement that often accompanies issues of weight gain and nutritional behavior.
Our bodies are miraculous vehicles that allow us to do everything we want to do (and some things we don’t really want to do)!
What Happens During Menopause?
There are a number of physiological changes that occur as you enter menopause which directly impact fat metabolization.
Understanding the difference between the two types of fat cells in our body is an important place to start in getting a clearer picture of potential menopausal weight gain.
- We have both subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) and visceral adipose tissue (VAT).
- SAT is the fat under your skin and VAT lines your organs.
- VAT is often referred to as the “bad” fat, as it carries a higher risk of mortality (1). It is also the type of fat we typically see around the abdomen in larger levels among males.
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In our ovaries, estrogen is produced through a series of reactions, the final one being the conversion of testosterone to estrogen using aromatase.
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Why is aromatase important?
As you enter menopause and the ovaries stop producing estrogen, that estrogen begins to be produced in small levels in VAT adipose tissues. According to this theory, the reason for this, is VAT is an environment high in aromatase and is therefore able to create estrogen. Some research has shown in fact that VAT increases among post-menopausal women (1,2).
This may account for the increase weight around the abdomen that many women experience. While more research is needed, some evidence shows that hormone replacement therapy and exercise can prevent or help reduce weight gain around the abdomen (3). Scientists continue to explore why fat cell types and size shift during menopause (1, 2).
In women, SAT often leads to an increase in weight around the hips and thighs.
For years people assumed this increase in weight is the result of a decreasing metabolism as we age. However, recent research by Herman Pontzer, a scientist who specializes in metabolism, suggests that our metabolic rate remains stable between the ages of 25 and 60. While it’s definitely possible that there are outliers, for most of us, midlife weight gain is not a symptom of a slower metabolism.
Additional contributors to weight gain that are impacted during perimenopause include sleep deprivation, gut hormones, a decline in physical activity, muscle loss, and others (3). With perimenopause marking a major shift in your life, take a look at how you prioritize your time to make sure you are on track for the healthiest version of you.