Menopause marks a pivotal transition in a woman’s life, signaling the end of fertility and menstruation cycles. This natural biological shift typically occurs between the ages of 45-55 as the ovaries stop producing reproductive hormones like estrogen and progesterone. While menopause is a normal part of aging, it brings both physical and emotional changes that can substantially impact a woman’s quality of life.
One of the most prominent and frustrating symptoms many women face during menopause is unexplained weight gain. Despite maintaining the same diet and exercise habits, it becomes noticeably harder to manage body weight after menopause. On average, women gain about 5 pounds directly attributed to menopausal shifts. However, some women can experience gains of 15 pounds or more during the menopausal transition.
This sudden weight gain often accumulates around the abdomen rather than hips and thighs. The redistribution of fat results in an increased waist-to-hip ratio. In addition to added pounds, women also lose lean muscle mass as they age, further slowing metabolism. These menopause-related body changes are driven by both hormonal fluctuations as well as lifestyle factors.
Understanding the physiology behind menopausal weight gain can help women be proactive about solutions. Awareness of the causes enables strategically addressing diet, activity levels, stress management and supportive supplements that can help counteract the unwanted abdominal weight many women wrestle with during this change.
Content Table
Causes of Menopause Weight Gain
Here are some factors as why women may find it difficult to lose weight during menopuase
Hormonal Fluctuations and Declining Estrogen
As women approach menopause, ovarian production of the hormone estrogen drops dramatically. This directly impacts body fat storage and metabolism.
Estrogen helps keep fat stored in the lower body – hips, buttocks and thighs. With less estrogen, fat redistributes to accumulate around the abdomen and waist.
Estrogen also plays an important role in regulating metabolism. Postmenopausal women burn about 100 fewer calories per day compared to premenopausal women with similar diet and activity levels. This translates to gradual weight gain over time.
Estrogen helps regulate where fat is distributed in the body. Before menopause, estrogen helps deposit fat in the hips, buttocks, and thighs giving many women a “pear” shape.
After menopause, as estrogen production declines, the primary location of fat storage shifts from the lower body to the abdomen. Less estrogen allows more fat to accumulate around the belly and waist creating an “apple” shape.
This abdominal fat, also called visceral fat, is more metabolically active and considered less healthy than lower body fat. Visceral fat cells release pro-inflammatory compounds that increase disease risk.
Estrogen helps keep visceral fat cells smaller. With lower estrogen, abdominal fat cells grow in both size and number. MRI scans reveal postmenopausal women have a larger number and volume of fat cells around organs in the belly.
Estrogen helps prevent new fat cell formation in the abdominal region and also plays a role in fat cell apoptosis (self-destruction). Low estrogen reduces these protective effects, enabling visceral fat accumulation.
Additionally, estrogen helps keep enzymes called lipoprotein lipases in check. These enzymes promote fat storage. Higher lipoprotein lipase activity in postmenopausal women causes more fat to be extracted from the bloodstream and stored in cells.
All of these effects of declining estrogen make it much easier for adipose fat tissue to expand in the abdominal region during menopause, despite no change in diet or exercise. This explains the frustrating weight gain experienced by many women in their late 40s and 50s.
Appetite Hormones Out of Balance
Shifts in reproductive hormones cause imbalances in appetite regulation. Two key appetite hormones are affected – ghrelin and leptin.
Ghrelin is the “hunger” hormone produced in the stomach. Studies show postmenopausal women have higher ghrelin levels, leading to increased feelings of hunger.
Note: There are some fast working appetite suppressants available over the counter that can regulate and control appetite naturally.
Leptin is the “satiety” hormone from fat cells. Lower estrogen after menopause is associated with decreased leptin, making it harder to feel full after eating.
The intricate biological system that regulates hunger and satiety depends on proper signaling between key appetite hormones. Two hormones that become imbalanced during menopause are ghrelin and leptin.
Ghrelin is known as the “hunger hormone.” It is produced mainly by cells in the stomach and pancreas. Ghrelin sends signals to the brain to increase hunger and promote eating.
Studies show that postmenopausal women tend to have higher circulating ghrelin levels than premenopausal women. This increased ghrelin drives up appetite causing an urge to eat more frequently or in larger amounts.
Leptin is considered the “satiety hormone.” It is released primarily by fat cells to signal the brain that enough food has been consumed. Leptin suppresses appetite and increases energy expenditure.
During menopause, a drop in estrogen causes leptin levels to decline. With inadequate leptin signaling, the brain does not properly receive the message that the body has sufficient energy stores. This makes it harder to feel satiated and stop eating.
When ghrelin is high and leptin is low, hunger cues overwhelm satiety signals. This hormone imbalance leads to increased calorie intake, slower metabolism, and ultimately fat gain – especially troublesome visceral fat around the abdomen.
Rebalancing these appetite hormones and managing hunger and fullness signals can be achieved through lifestyle strategies like mindful eating, meal planning, and choosing filling fiber-rich foods. Specific nutrients and supplements can also help optimize hormone regulation.
Muscle Mass Decline
The drop in estrogen accelerates the natural loss of lean muscle mass from aging. Less muscle means a slower resting metabolism.
Muscle burns more calories than fat. Losing muscle mass results in a lower daily energy expenditure and fewer calories burned during everyday activities.
To maintain weight, women need to reduce calorie intake by about 100 calories for every pound of muscle lost during menopause.
Loss of Muscle Mass
- The natural process of aging leads to some loss of lean muscle mass starting around age 30. However, the drop in estrogen from menopause accelerates the rate of muscle loss in women.
- Estrogen helps maintain muscle mass by blocking the action of inflammatory cytokines that break down muscle tissue. With reduced estrogen, these harmful inflammatory effects on muscle increase.
- Research shows women lose between 3-5% of their muscle mass in the 5 years after menopause, and continue losing muscle at a rate of 1% per year after that. This muscle tissue is replaced by fat over time.
- Loss of muscle mass contributes to the slower metabolic rate experienced in menopause. Pound for pound, muscle burns more calories than fat – even at rest.
- The loss of just 3-5 pounds of muscle mass can lower daily calorie needs by 100 calories or more. Without adjusting food intake, this calorie deficit leads to gradual fat gain.
- Muscle loss also reduces overall strength and mobility, compounding the effects of inactivity and weight gain. Weaker muscles make exercise more difficult, creating a detrimental cycle.
- Building and maintaining muscle with strength training and adequate protein intake should be a priority for women during menopause and beyond to help preserve a healthy metabolism.
Lifestyle Changes
Altered Eating Habits
- The drop in estrogen and associated impacts on hunger and satiety hormones often lead women to consume more calories without realizing it.
- Increased appetite coupled with a slower metabolism creates a perfect storm for weight gain if eating habits remain unchanged after menopause.
- Menopausal women require about 200 fewer daily calories to maintain their pre-menopause weight as their metabolism downshifts and muscle mass declines. Without adjusting food intake, excess calories get stored as fat.
- Larger portion sizes, second helpings, and snacking between meals often creep up due to increased appetite and cravings. These unconscious eating habits add to calorie excess.
- Additionally, women going through menopause under stress may engage in more emotional or comfort eating. Turning to high fat and high sugar foods in response to mood fluctuations and physical discomfort contributes further to weight gain.
Decreased Activity Levels
- Physical activity often decreases during menopause and the busy middle-age years due to family and work obligations. Prioritizing exercise becomes more challenging.
- Menopause fatigue and motivational slumps caused by hormonal shifts also deter women from maintaining their previous activity levels. Being sedentary contributes to muscle loss and slower metabolism.
- Weight gain then makes physical activity more difficult, creating a downward spiral. In addition, excessive abdominal weight negatively impacts posture, mobility, and balance further disincentivizing exercise.
- Making time for daily movement and building physical activity habits can help counteract these detrimental effects on metabolism and body composition.
Genetic Factors
Where and how a woman’s body stores fat is partially genetic. Some are predisposed to hold excess weight in the midsection after menopause.
Ethnic differences also play a role. Hispanic and Black women tend to experience greater abdominal fat storage compared to Caucasian and Asian women during menopause.
- Where and how a woman’s body stores fat is partially determined by genetics. Some women are genetically predisposed to carry excess weight in their midsection and abdomen rather than hips and thighs.
- This genetic tendency toward abdominal fat storage becomes more evident after menopause when estrogen declines. Without estrogen’s protective effects, these women accumulate more visceral fat.
- Research shows that women who are overweight before menopause are likely to gain weight, especially in the midsection, during the menopausal transition.
- Genes that regulate appetite hormones, fat cell growth, and where fat is distributed play roles in menopausal weight gain risks. If a woman’s mother experienced significant weight gain during menopause, she is more likely to follow the same pattern.
- Ethnic differences also impact weight gain and body fat distribution during menopause partially due to genetics. For example:
- Hispanic women undergoing menopause tend to gain more weight on average compared to other ethnicities, storing excess fat predominantly in the abdominal area. Partly this reflects genetic predisposition.
- Black women are also genetically prone to gaining intra-abdominal fat during menopause despite overall low body mass index (BMI). The highest rates of abdominal obesity are seen in Black compared to Asian and Caucasian postmenopausal women.
- Caucasian women going through menopause tend to experience fat gain in both the abdomen and lower body. Weight gain in Asian women shows more lower body fat accumulation.
While genes are not destiny, being aware of inherent risks can help women proactively modify diet and exercise habits to better manage menopause weight gain.
Supplements that Can Combat Menopausal Weight Gain
Probiotics like YourBiology Gut+ can be very beneficial for managing menopause weight gain. Probiotics contain healthy bacteria that help balance gut microbiome, optimize digestion, improve gut barrier function, and reduce inflammation. This supports healthy metabolism and body composition.
Specific probiotic strains in supplements like Gut+ also help regulate appetite hormones like ghrelin and leptin. By controlling hunger signals and cravings, probiotics aid weight loss efforts. They also enhance fat breakdown and absorption of nutrients from food.
Dedicated weight loss supplements like PhenQ provide additional targeted support for losing stubborn menopause weight. PhenQ contains research-backed ingredients that boost metabolism, increase thermogenesis, and inhibit new fat formation.
For example, ingredients like caffeine and capsimax powder have thermogenic effects to enhance fat burning. Nopal cactus fiber suppresses appetite and prevents fat absorption. L-Carnitine fumarate facilitates conversion of fat stores into energy.
Pairing probiotics with supplements like PhenQ that directly impact fat metabolism provides a dual-action solution to counteract the physiological factors leading to menopause weight gain. This comprehensive approach helps women lose abdominal fat, accelerate fat burning, and achieve long-lasting weight control.
Conclusion – Why Menopausal Weight Gain Happens
Menopausal weight gain can be extremely frustrating for women as it often happens despite their best efforts to maintain healthy diet and exercise habits. However, understanding the physiological changes behind it makes the weight gain less mysterious.
The dramatic drop in estrogen that occurs during the menopausal transition has widespread impacts on body fat distribution and metabolism. Declining estrogen levels cause more fat to be stored around the abdomen rather than hips and thighs. Estrogen’s effects on regulating appetite and fat cell growth also diminish, making weight gain easier.
Loss of muscle mass from aging and menopause compounds the problem by lowering daily calorie requirements. Changes in eating patterns and activity levels add to the likelihood of weight gain for many women going through menopause as well.
While genetics and ethnicity also play a role, the influence of fluctuating reproductive hormones like estrogen and shifting appetite hormones like leptin and ghrelin are major drivers of menopausal weight gain.
Awareness of why the weight gain happens allows women to be proactive. Adjusting eating habits, activity levels, managing stress, and strategic supplementation can all help counteract the effects of hormonal changes to maintain a healthy weight and body composition during midlife and beyond.
Resources and references:
Overview of studies showing hormone changes, loss of muscle mass, genetics, and lifestyle changes contributing to menopausal weight gain.
The North American Menopause Society
https://www.menopause.org/for-women/menopauseflashes/menopause-symptoms-and-treatments/10-facts-about-menopausal-belly-fat
References research linking menopausal hormonal shifts to increased abdominal fat deposition.
Harvard Medical School
https://www.health.harvard.edu/womens-health/why-the-middle-aged-spread-puts-women-at-risk
Outlines studies confirming impacts of declining estrogen on body fat distribution in menopause.
NIH National Library of Medicine
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17062770/
Analysis of cross-sectional study evidencing increased visceral fat and adipose tissue dysfunction during the menopause transition.
BMC Women’s Health
https://bmcwomenshealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1472-6874-12-44
Review of studies on biological and behavioral factors related to weight gain during the menopause transition.
