Jonas Space – Health Blog

If you are a woman, have you ever wondered why your belly starts getting bigger as you age, especially after menopause?

Obviously there are other reasons than menopause, such as genetic predisposition and lack of exercise or eating the wrong foods. In the case of women who have never had a weight problem, and then once they reach menopause, the weight around the belly starts packing on, there is another reason.

Belly fat is interior fat and this surrounds our organs and can lead to many health problems such as cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, gall bladder problems, cancer and cholesterol issues.  This belly fat has cells that release hormones that can also change our metabolism in addition to the slowing caused by aging.

With menopause, we begin to have hormonal changes that have an impact on how we manage fat in our system. During menopause we lose estrogen and because estrogen is made by our fat cells, we start producing more fat cells due to the loss of estrogen. Progesterone levels also decrease and may contribute to water weight gain or bloating.

If our hormones are not in balance our insulin levels can go up and thyroid levels down.  If there is also an increase in the stress hormone cortisol this can add to more belly fat. An increase in insulin can lead to type II diabetes.

Weight gain around menopause may be unavoidable, but we can do something about it. The fastest way to burn fat is to eat a healthy diet and find appropriate exercises to do. If you want to burn fat faster your exercise should occur for at least 30 minutes at least three times per week but preferably five times per week. Exercise not only burns calorie, but reduces stress, and this will help decrease the cortisol levels that contribute to belly fat. A healthy diet is low in saturated fat and rich in fruits and vegetables, complex carbohydrates, lean protein and omega 3s.