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Articles on Women Matters:

The Truth on Menopause and Weight Gain

One of the major causes of weight gain in women is the changes in their hormone levels and sedentarism. Studies show that about 90 percent of menopausal women experience weight gain between the ages 35 to 55. This is not surprising because weight gain comes with the territory of aging and menopausal.

Medical experts say that menopause occurs when a woman’s ovaries has stopped producing estrogen which is responsible for ovulation and menstruation. Today, more and more women who are experiencing menopause go through weight gain due to hormonal changes brought about by aging. Experts explain that with aging, the muscles in the body start to decrease in bulk along with the slowing of metabolism. This slowing down of metabolism along with decrease in bulk of the body’s muscles contributes to weight gain. Aside from weight gain, menopause also leads to loss of sexual appetite or loss of libido, vaginal atrophy, and growth or loss of hair in the head and face. With all these demoralizing truths, it is common that women who are experiencing menopause lose self-confidence and esteem. But, it shouldn’t stay that way. With the help of science and modern researches, weight gain during menopausal years can be solved.

THE WEIGHT GAIN

Weight gain during menopause is as common as aging. Usually, women sometimes gain about 10 to15 pounds starting from their abdomen, to the hips, thighs, and rear. Studies show that weight gain on women usually starts during their pre-menopausal years and will continue to pile up as they grow older. For those who have experienced early menopausal due to major operation or surgery, they are expected to gain weight faster compared to those who haven’t.

Because of the changes in their weight or size, many women are starting to dread the thought of menopausal. It is recommended to exerciseregularly and eat to one's appetite. Experts say that women should be more aware when they are entering the stage of menopausal so they can prepare for it. Physicians say that women should expect that as they enter the early stages of menopause, they would have difficulty maintaining their weight because of the fluctuation in their hormones. Because of these natural hormonal changes-that include estrogen, testosterone, and androgen levels-a man’s or woman’s appetite, metabolism, and fat storage are greatly affected.

UNVEILING THE REASONS BEHIND WEIGHT GAIN DURING MENOPAUSE

Before sulking into a pit of depression, a woman must know the reasons behind it so she can make the necessary adjustments.

1. Hormone deficiency and lack of female hormones that slows down metabolism. Lack of estrogen leads to excessive weight gain because it alters certain functions of the body and greatly influences fat distribution in the body. You must understand estrogen and fat distribution very well.

2. Slow metabolism due to aging. As people grow older, their metabolism starts to slow down. One effective way of reducing energy intake, women who are experiencing menopause are recommended to have a balanced diet composed of whole grains, fruits and vegetables.

3. Lack of exercise or physical activity. As women enter their menopausal stage, they become more sedentary in almost everything that they do. This inactive lifestyle leads them to weight gain because they are not getting enough physical exercise they should get. If muscle pains are giving a woman a hard time to do such simple and regular exercises, she can try taking in vitamin and mineral supplement to boost her energy levels that contain calcium, magnesium, potassium, zinc, chromium and selenium.

4. The use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) can also be a big factor in gaining weight. Although HRT is known to help give back lost female hormones, this treatment can also add up on the weight she already has because it works. HRT has also been subject to serious warnings in their use recently.

5. Weight gain can also be traced in increased food intake due to emotional problems like depression. Emotional eating or overeating due to frustration over weight gain is also a big factor that contributes to excessive weight gain. Talking to friends and satying active are powerful ways to fight back.

Dr Nathalie Fiset
20 Dec 2006

Dr Nathalie Fiset is a family doctor and a certified hypnotherapist. For more information go to: http://www.bestmenopause.com/weight-gain.html http://www.aperfectharmony.com or http://www.myalpha-power.com

Learn How To Deal With Menopause

A woman’s life is often marked by drastic changes. From adolescence to her menopausal years, women strive to cope up with the remarkable changes that come their way.

According to medical experts, menopause is a very significant time in any woman’s life because this is the time her body goes through a lot of changes. These changes-mostly physical-greatly affect her social, emotional, and intellectual stability. Studies show that when a woman goes through her menopausal years, her feelings about herself and her attitude towards work and life in general changes considerably.

MENOPAUSE FACTS

Menopause is perfectly a natural occurrence in any woman’s life. Unlike before when menopause is dreaded like some sort of disease, medical advances today have proven that a wide range of health care choices can be done to help women cope up with their menopausal stage.

Learning what menopause is all about, what causes it and what are the things that can be done to enhance the quality of life during this phase will help women nearing it understand it fully. Knowledge about it can even teach women how to deal with the phase when it comes.

In medical terms, menopause-meno (menstruation) and pause (stops)-refers to the last menstrual flow in a woman’s life or the end of a woman’s menstrual periods. Medical experts say that menopause is a natural part of aging and usually occurs when the woman’s ovaries stop making hormones called “estrogens.” When the ovaries stop producing estrogen, the estrogen level will drop and will halt monthly periods. Low estrogen levels are usually linked to many uncomfortable symptoms in most women. Since estrogen plays a big role in shaping a female’s body in preparation for various female functions such as pregnancy, it’s loss during menopausal years can create a big impact on a woman’s overall well being.

The climacteric spans of menopausal years are usually dated from early or mid 40s to late 50s to early 60s. The entire phase includes the pre-menopausal years (before menopause), the menopausal climax years (during menopause), and the post-menopausal years (after menopause) or the “Change of Life.” Aside from aging, menopause can also be triggered by surgical removal of the ovaries for any other reasons like illness.

Medical experts agree that about 75 percent of women across the globe report uncomfortable symptoms during menopause and these vary from the most common to the most complicated ones. Studies show that the most common symptoms of menopause include hot flashes and vaginal atrophy or thinning, drying, shrinking and thinning of the vagina. Other symptoms include hot flashes along with sudden and violent waves of sweating, irregular periods, vaginal or urinary tract infections, urinary incontinence or inability to control the flow of urine, redness or inflammation of the vagina, ultimate discomfort or pain during sexual intercourse, visible changes in skin, digestive tract, and hair.

Emotional changes like mood swings and depression are also distinguished during pre-menopausal, menopausal, and post-menopausal years.

In the long run, more serious health risks are related to menopause or the lack of estrogen supply in a woman’s body. These include osteoporosis, heart diseases and heart attacks that can be traced due to being overweight or obesity, blood pressure that is monitored regularly, cigarette smoking, illness such as diabetes, high levels of “bad” cholesterol in the body and a low level of physical activities.

Menopause is usually determined after a woman has visited her physician. After the health history and physical examination has been diagnosed and conducted by the doctor, the appropriate therapy is then recommended to improve the menopausal discomfort. If you are on the verge of menopausal and you’re worried how to deal with it, make sure that you ask for professional help before anything gets worse.

Dr Nathalie Fiset
24 Dec 2006

Dr Nathalie Fiset is a family doctor and a certified hypnotherapist. For more information go to: http://www.bestmenopause.com/depression.html
http://www.aperfectharmony.com or
http://www.myalpha-power.com.