Menopause: weight and night sweats

Everyone knows that smoking, heavy drinking, and obesity are hazardous to health, and yet people continue to make these unwise lifestyle choices. Not only do these behaviors lead to serious health complications ranging from stroke to cancer, they can have a profound impact on the amount of symptoms a woman experiences during menopause. With particular regard to weight, hormone imbalance is one of the main reasons a woman in menopause experiences any symptoms; weight has a substantial impact on your hormone levels and overall wellness. Night sweats may occur in women with abnormal weights and upset hormone levels because of their lifestyle choices, insulin absorption, estrogen production, and thyroid regulation. To learn more about the importance of maintaining a healthy weight for avoiding night sweats, read below.

Weight gain and menopause

When a woman enters menopause, she becomes more prone to gaining weight, particularly around the midsection. She also may develop other symptoms like hot flashes or night sweats (hot flashes at night).These are often attributed to the declining estrogen levels that occur around this time. However, there are many other reasons a woman may experience sudden weight fluctuation as well as night sweats. The list below is not exhaustive.

Diet and exercise

Few people realize how the way you treat the body impacts the way you feel. Women who are careless with what they eat may be putting foods that cause night sweats as well as weight gain into their bodies. Exercise is one of the cheapest, most effective, and easiest methods for balancing hormones; stagnant lifestyles may cause hormonal imbalance.

Insulin

When women gain weight, it can lead to diabetes; this usually only occurs in extreme cases or in women predisposed to developing diabetes. However, insulin medication has been found to induce night sweats.

Estrogen production

On the other hand, some research has suggested that obese women are less likely to suffer from hot flashes and night sweats. This may be attributed to the estrogen that fat cells produce around the time of menopause. If the fat cells produce enough estrogen to compensate for the fallen levels of estrogen, a woman may not experience any hormone imbalance symptoms.

Thyroid

If a woman suffers from hyperthyroidism (an overproduction of hormones in the thyroid) she may experience sudden and rapid weight loss; hot flashes and night sweats are also common symptoms.

For more information

If you have a more technical question or none of the above possibilities apply to your weight and night sweats, contact your doctor. She may be able to give you more information about the cause of your symptoms as well as suggest methods for treatment. To read more on related topics, click this link.