We’ve never talked so much about menopause! While the drop in hormones brings with it its share of uncomfortable symptoms, including hot flashes, the weight gain associated with this stage of life worries many women. Can Weight Gain During Menopause Be Curbed? I’ll discuss it with Maxime St-Onge, aka Dr. Kin!
Photo provided by Maxime St-Onge
Maxime St-Onge, aka Dr. children
As a sports scientist with a doctorate, can you explain the weight gain in this phase of life?
In fact, weight gain is associated with aging and occurs in both men and women as early as their 30s. We’re talking about 1 to 1.5 pounds a year between the ages of 50 and 60, so weight gain is slower. What essentially differs is the body composition and the distribution of adipose tissue. The woman going through menopause will experience a significant increase in her fat mass, but especially at the visceral level. The problem is less the increase in total weight than the distribution of fat mass during menopause.
Fat distribution changes during menopause, what are the metabolic consequences?
Visceral fat, i.e. around the organs, significantly increases the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). In fact, the risks of type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol are significantly increased when belly fat accumulates. Waist measurement is becoming more important than weighing when assessing health risk. You should aim for a waist measurement of 88 cm or less to reduce your cardiovascular risk.
What are the other factors that explain the increase in fat mass?
Sleep problems are observed especially in women in perimenopause. This sleep deprivation disrupts appetite regulation and increased food intake can be seen in women who sleep little. In addition, due to a lack of sufficient energy, many women will reduce their physical activity, which will also reduce the amount of calories consumed each day.
Can we slow down the increase in fat mass at the abdominal level?
Exercise is one intervention that can be effective in moderating visceral fat accumulation, particularly exercise of an aerobic (“cardio”) nature. We find that this form of exercise allows for better control of fat use and storage, particularly visceral fat. Adopting a daily active lifestyle combined with aerobic training turns out to be a very interesting strategy.
Is it possible to increase (booster) its basal metabolic rate?
There is a decline in basal (or resting) metabolism associated with aging. This reduction slightly reduces overall energy expenditure, which promotes weight gain. Loss of lean mass (muscle) is a major contributor to this decline, but age is also a factor, independent of muscle mass decline. Other factors such as hypothyroidism or taking certain medications also reduce resting metabolism.
To counteract this drop in resting metabolism, we can think about strength training to preserve muscle mass. However, the increase in metabolism remains small, ie 13 to 16 calories per 1kg increase in muscle mass. It is all the more interesting to increase and diversify daily physical activity in order to benefit from numerous health benefits in addition to increasing calorie consumption.
What are your top lifestyle tips for menopausal women?
The priority is primarily at the level of physical and mental health. To be good, it is important to distinguish between physical activity and exercise. Physical activity represents all of our daily movements. Exercise is therefore a subcategory of physical activity and primarily serves to improve physical fitness. Women beginning the transition to menopause should engage in an exercise routine to improve their cardiovascular and muscular strength.
Developing these skills should lead to adopting a more active daily lifestyle. For example, better cardio should allow us to take longer walks in nature or explore more mountainous landscapes, etc. The best physical condition must encourage a more active lifestyle, because the combination of exercise and physical activity proves to be an important guarantor of both physical as well as for mental health. Let’s not forget that there is no drug or treatment that has as many benefits with as few side effects as physical activity…
►For more tools to help you live your menopause better, check out my latest book co-authored with Dr. Lyne Desautels was written: Better live the menopause, hormones and food to your rescue, at the Editions de l’homme.
Photo provided by Les Éditions de l’homme
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