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Causes of Weight Gain
Weight gain is a normal aspect of getting older. As years progress metabolism slows, setting the physiological stage for weight gain. Although age in itself can lead to plumped midsections, women approaching menopause have particular cause for concern. As a woman´s hormones fluctuate prior to menopause, preparing for a permanently reduced hormonal level, she is likely to experience weight gain.
Hormones play a major role in weight regulation. As their levels become imbalanced and diminished, the susceptibility of weight gain increases. Continue reading to learn more about the hormonal and other causes of weight gain during menopause.
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Hormonal Causes of Weight Gain
Hormones have a direct affect on every factor that leads to weight gain: appetite, metabolism, and fat storage. It´s no wonder that at the time of wild hormonal fluctuations that occur prior to and during menopause women tend to gain weight.
Women typically begin picking up about one pound a year during perimenopause, the roughly 10-year period leading up to menopause that generally takes place between age 45 and 55.
With this in mind, expanded abdomens can baffle some women who don´t know that hormones have a great deal of control over weight. Several different hormones have a hand in menopausal weight gain. |
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Hormones and Weight Gain
A woman´s hormones have complex functions in her body, including weight control. Here´s a list of the different hormones that can affect weight gain and how:
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Estrogen: As a woman´s ovaries produce less estrogen, her body attempts to find the hormone in places other than the ovaries. Fat cells can produce estrogen, so her body works harder to convert calories into fat to increase estrogen levels. Unfortunately, fat cells don't burn calories the way muscle cells do, which causes weight gain.
Progesterone: Water retention is often linked to menopause because water weight and bloating are caused by decreased progesterone levels. Though this doesn't actually result in weight gain, clothes can feel a bit tighter and a woman may feel as though she´s heavier.
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Most women experience a 5% decrease in metabolic rate per decade.
Because metabolism slows as women approach menopause, they need about 200 fewer calories a day to maintain their weight as they enter their mid to late 40s. |
 Androgen: The amount of this hormone increases at the onset of menopause. It´s responsible for sending new weight to the mid-section instead of to the hips, which many women are accustomed to. Some women even have a nickname for the menopause years based on the mid-section weight gain: "the middle-age spread."
Testosterone: Testosterone helps a woman´s body create lean muscle mass out of the calories consumed. Muscle cells burn more calories than fat cells do, increasing metabolic rate. As testosterone levels drop, fewer calories are transformed into lean muscle mass, thus a woman´s metabolism winds down.
Insulin Resistance: Insulin resistance can occur during the menopausal years. This is when a woman´s body mistakenly turns every calorie taken in into fat. Over time, processed and refined foods may make a woman´s body resistant to insulin produced in the blood stream.
Hypothyroidism and Weight Gain
Women with an underactive thyroid often experience wait gain because their metabolic rate slows down as a result of the condition. In some cases, hyperthyroidism can also cause weight gain, but that is rare. Thyroid hormones essentially regulate calorie consumption in the body. With an underactive thyroid, fewer calories are burned and converted into energy. Instead they are stored in the body. Here are some reasons why women experience hypothyroidism and low metabolic rate more than men:
- Many women spend much of their lives dieting in a yo-yo cycle of binging on food and then purging. This undermines a woman´s metabolism and decreases her metabolic rate, a compounding factor for the thyroid, especially during menopause.
- Women tend to be more affected by stress than men, which affects their adrenal, brain, and thyroid function.
- Because women experience monthly hormonal fluctuations from their menstrual cycles, their biochemistry is greatly affected.
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Hormones and appetite
A drop in hormone levels, particularly estrogen and progesterone, can increase a woman´s appetite and influence her to eat a lot more, up to 67% more, according to one study. An increase in appetite coupled with a slower metabolism with the onset of menopause can cause weight gain in women. This could, perhaps, account for the 12% jump in the number of women who are overweight in midlife compared to women in their 20s and 30s.
Other Causes of Weight Gain
Although hormones are largely responsible for weight gain during menopause, there are other factors that can play a role as well. They are separated into two categories: age and lifestyle factors.
Age and weight gain:
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Beginning at about age 30, an individual´s physical abilities begin to decrease and continue deteriorating until about age 60 or 70. The body´s abilities then level off and decline at a slower rate. The rate of decline depends largely on an individual´s physical activity and particular lifestyle. This decreasing physical ability affects weight because a person becomes less able to engage in physical activities that help to maintain a stable weight by burning calories. To compound the potential for weight gain with age, the metabolic rate begins to slow after age 30, which also leads to weight gain. |
There is on average a 40 to 50% reduction in an individual´s muscle mass between ages 30 and 70, with a simultaneous increase in body fat. This transition sets the groundwork for slower metabolism, reduced physical activities, and difficulty burning calories, thus leading to weight gain. |
Not only is a person´s physiology working against her as she ages, but her lifestyle later in life tends to make her susceptible to weight gain. For instance, her job in later life often requires less physical activity than the job of a young woman, she may eat out at restaurants more frequently, and with the kids out of the house she misses the day-to-day activities that go along with raising children.
Lifestyle and Weight Gain
Even though physical changes are an unavoidable part of getting older that leads to weight gain, a woman´s lifestyle is also a hugely important variable that can either tip the scale in favor of extra pounds or fend off weight gain. Below are some lifestyle factors that can lead to weight gain:
Depression and weight gain
While some doctors believe depression leads to weight gain and others believe exactly the opposite, one thing is clear: depression and weight gain are connected. Many people who suffer from depression get less exercise and tend to eat more. (Although some people with depression eat less and experience drastic weight loss.) Antidepressant medication can also lead to weight gain. |
Lifestyle and Weight Gain
Even though physical changes are an unavoidable part of getting older that leads to weight gain, a woman´s lifestyle is also a hugely important variable that can either tip the scale in favor of extra pounds or fend off weight gain. Below are some lifestyle factors that can lead to weight gain:
• Stress.
• Reduced physical activity.
• Change in eating habit.
• Medication use.
• Drinking excess amounts of alcohol.
• Quitting smoking. |
With the causes of weight gain during menopause specified, it´s now time to read about the treatments for weight gain to learn how to take back control of the body´s weight and health.
Return to home page and learn more about the 34 Menopause Symptoms.
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