A woman’s body composition during and after menopause shifts, with body fat increasing while lean muscle mass decreases. Instead of accumulating in the arms, legs or hips, as was the case in younger years, menopause abdominal fat develops in the belly.
The shift that causes menopause abdominal fat is linked to the change in hormone levels. During menopause, the estrogen levels in a woman’s body begin to diminish. While androgen (the male hormone) is present in the female body, its ratio to estrogen rises as the estrogen level decreases. This shift has been linked to the rise in accumulated menopause abdominal fat.
Subcutaneous fat is the fat layer just under the skin. If you grab the skin and fat on your legs, arms or stomach, you are grabbing subcutaneous fat. Menopause abdominal fat is the fat that lays beneath the abdominal muscle wall. This is called visceral fat and it carries the most health risks. Increased risks of cardiovascular problems, type 2 diabetes, breast cancer and gallbladder problems are all associated with visceral fat.
Okay, that’s the bad news. The good news is that visceral fat responds to exercise and diet much more rapidly and easily than subcutaneous fat. Research done at Duke University Medical Center found that a 9% menopause abdominal fat gain happened in sedentary individuals, whereas people who exercised the equivalent of 20 walking miles a week lost both visceral and subcutaneous fat.
While it may be harder to get rid of the surface layer of fat, know that your efforts are not being wasted. Ridding your body of visceral fat increases your health exponentially and cuts your risk factors down substantially.
Recommendations For Reducing Menopause Abdominal Fat
* Cardiovascular exercises like walking, swimming, aerobics, bicycling and such should be performed for 30 minutes a day, 3 times a week. Resistance training should also be engaged, with a performance aspect of 60 minutes duration, twice a week. If you are not already at those levels, working up to them is a good idea. Any amount of activity over and above what you are currently doing will help, regardless.
* Healthy Diet must be monitored as well. Concentrate on lean proteins, fresh vegetables and fruit and other complex carbohydrates. Do not decrease the amounts of food you eat, as the body will interpret this as famine and will slow the metabolism, thus encouraging the body to keep the fat it has for fuel. So, eat as much as you normally do, just make better choices in your food selection.
Your menopause weight solution is in your reach. All you need to do is to take action and you are on your way to losing menopause abdominal fat forewer.
