Study: Menopause Can Make You Fat

On Aug 20, during the national meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS), researchers presented the results of their studies that show estrogen's role in body weight and fat distribution in women. In an ACS press release announcing the findings, researchers concluded that their animal studies support what many women have believed all along about menopause and gaining weight. In other words, the experiments concluded that "menopause can make you fat."

Dr. Deborah J. Clegg, an assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, lead the research. In simple terms, Dr. Clegg and her team found in their experiments with mice that estrogen receptors in the brain control food intake, metabolism and body fat distribution in women.

Estrogen receptors are located on cells throughout the female body. Experimenting with mice, Clegg and her colleagues were able to show how estrogen receptors located in the brain - specifically, the hypothalamus - work as a master switch to control food intake, energy expenditure (metabolism) and body fat distribution. When the receptors were destroyed, the mice ate more food, burned fewer calories and gained weight. Clegg said the findings may lead to the development of better hormone replacement therapies that would stimulate estrogen receptors in the brain, while still dampening estrogen in receptors in other parts of the body.

Dr. Clegg says that the "accumulation of abdominal fat puts both men and women at a heightened risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and insulin resistance. Women are protected from these negative consequences as long as they carry their weight in their hips and saddlebags. But when they go through menopause and the body fat shifts to the abdomen, they have to start battling all of these medical complications."

According to Epigee Women's Health, an online educational resource for women, belly fat is common and one of the symptoms of menopause, along with a change in the overall shape of a woman's body. In fact, about 90 percent of menopausal women gain weight. However, Epigee states that "you may not necessarily have to blame yourself for this newly acquired weight - research now shows that weight gain during menopause is caused by shifts in your hormones, not greedy eating." Dr. Clegg's research certainly supports Epigee's premise.

Obesity and obesity-related health problems are no doubt increasing for both men and women. However, fat distribution and the risk for developing cardiovascular problems, type-2 diabetes mellitus, certain cancers and other obesity-related health problems differ for men and women.

Because these studies were able to identifying the critical brain regions that determine where body fat is distributed, Dr. Clegg is hopeful that scientists will now be able to turn their attention to developing hormone replacement therapies that will better manage and manipulate estrogen levels.

Dr. Clegg said that if they "could target those critical regions and estrogen receptors associated with weight gain and energy expenditure, we could perhaps design therapies that help women sidestep many of the complications brought on by the onset of menopause."

Sources:

Press release, Revealing Estrogen's Secret Role in Obesity; http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/532419/

Epigee; http://www.epigee.org/menopause/weight_gain.html