Heavier with Hormones?
Women frustrated by menopausal weight gain might be packing on pounds courtesy hormone replacement therapy
The sensation feels like being thrust into a tropical rainforest at the height of summer. That’s followed by a wave of clammy cold.
A hot flash is an absurd euphemism for the experience, say menopausal women.
Yet, despite the discomfort, fewer women are seeking relief through hormone-replacement therapy (HRT), which has been shown to be effective.
That’s unfortunate and unnecessary, according to health experts.
“Some women suffer greatly when hormones are eliminated,” says Elizabeth Lee Vliet, M.D. and author of “It’s My Ovaries, Stupid” (Evans and Company, 2003).
“Women may have sleep problems or severe joint pain. They clearly need to be on hormones because their quality of life is bad without [the drugs],” says Vliet, who practices medicine in Tucson, Ariz.
One major cause of women’s anxiety was the Women’s Health Initiative Study, (WHI), on the theoretical benefits of HRT. The long-term investigation was abruptly halted in 2002 when researchers noted higher risks of breast cancer, heart attacks and strokes in volunteers taking hormones.
When you hit menopause you may notice a pinch at your waistband. Your waistline may be expanding even if you’re not gaining weight.
As women stop making estrogen their weight distribution changes, says Dr. Michelle Warren and medical director of the Center for Menopause, Hormonal Disorders and Women’s Health at Columbia University in New York City.
Before menopause, women tend to accumulate fat around their thighs and buttocks; after menopause they pack fat around the abdomen, developing an apple shape.
The thickening waist may also signal fat build-up around the intestinal organs. Visceral fat leads to an increase in bad cholesterol (LDL) and insulin resistance, which could result in adult-onset diabetes.
Women who continue to take hormones may see the apple shape later in life, Warren reports. She isn’t suggesting using hormones for vanity’s sake, however. “You don’t have to give in to the apple shape. Exercise can make a huge difference,” she says. “And if you have a genetic tendency to a thick waistline, exercise even more.”
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