At the beginning of the year, many people, especially women, start new routines with the aim of losing weight. Although the focus should be on changing habits to improve well-being and quality of life, and that weight loss be the consequence of these changes, the truth is that there are still many women obsessed with the number on the scale. .
Many middle-aged women blame their weight gain on the menopausal transition process. It is common for women between the ages of 45 and 55 to arrive at the consultation who, suddenly, they find themselves with 12 extra kilos. This “suddenly” is the way patients usually verbalize it, but it is not something that happens overnight. In reality, what is happening is somewhat more complex, since a series of events are coming together that increase the risk of increasing the amount of body fat more than it should during this vital stage.
On the one hand, we have perimenopause, those years prior to menopause and which is characterized by a whole series of symptoms, such as hot flashes, sleep disturbances, genitourinary system or mood disorders, to name a few. Perimenopause is often the first to be blamed for weight gain. However, studies show that women tend to gain, on average, between 2 and 3 kilos of weight during the transition to menopause, although there is certainly a lot of inter-individual variability.
The lack of estrogen leads to an increase in body fat, but also a decrease in muscle mass, so weight is actually slightly affected. What does occur, however, is a change in the distribution of body fat. Thus, before entering perimenopause, body fat is distributed mainly in the subcutaneous area of the buttocks and hips, while postmenopausal women tend to have a greater amount of total fat, a higher percentage of fat, and accumulation of fat at the visceral, in the abdomen.
lower calorie expenditure
The effect of age on weight can be perceived from the age of 30. At that time, a progressive decrease in muscle mass begins to take place, which translates into a lower basal metabolic rate. This means that we burn fewer calories at rest by having less muscle.
Changes in age also lead to a decrease in physical activity, which can be subtle and not noticeable by the woman. However, this has an accumulated effect on energy expenditure, since exercising or moving less affects muscle mass once more, decreasing its proportion and contributing to this decrease in the basal metabolic rate, resulting in an increase in the body fat.
For this reason, scheduled physical activity, carried out on a regular basis, is key to maintaining muscle mass in women. Curiously, the percentage of sedentary lifestyle in women increases from the age of 35. In fact, half of women between the ages of 45 and 64 do not practice physical activity any day of the week.
Thus, to date, most of the scientific literature supports the theory that weight gain in mature women is mainly due to increasing age and lifestyle changes, and that the drop in estrogen caused by menopause per se does not produce significant postmenopausal weight gain. adjust for age.
Another important factor that can contribute to the increase in body fat during the transition to menopause is the sleep disturbances characteristic of this stage. In addition, if the hot flashes and night sweats are recurrent, the lack of rest can cause an increase in fatigue and a decrease in physical activity, whether spontaneous or programmed.
Emotional lability is another of the characteristic symptoms of the transition to menopause. Changes in mood can interfere with the adoption of healthy habits and contribute to weight gain, either using food as an outlet for emotions or not finding the motivation or desire to exercise or eat properly healthy.
It would seem that the mature woman has everything to lose to maintain her weight within a range that allows her to live with health and quality of life. However, it is possible to achieve a healthy weight when the approach to weight loss management is multifactorial: diet, physical exercise, and psychological support to facilitate change in habits.
For all these reasons, it is important to become aware and adjust both diet and physical activity consciously, understanding the changes that occur in the body and that weight loss, more than an end in itself, is the result of self-care and a healthy lifestyle.
A global priority
According to him Statistics National Institute, the percentage of women who suffer from overweight and obesity begins to increase considerably from the age of 35. If from 35 to 44 years old, 31% of women are overweight and 13% obese, the figures rise to 37% and 15% respectively in the age range where menopause occurs, between 45 and 54 years.
The fact that almost half of women in this age group are overweight or obese jeopardizes the well-being of a very important part of the population, due to the serious consequences that they can have in the long term for health.
Obesity is a complex chronic disease. It is characterized by an abnormal excess of body fat that negatively affects the physical and mental health of the person who suffers from it. The great impact it has on health has elevated it to the top of public health problems worldwide. Being obese increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, some types of cancer (breast, endometrial, ovarian) or osteoarthritis. Hence, its prevention and treatment is a global priority.
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