The implications go beyond aesthetics.
Hot flashes and mood swings may steal the spotlight during the “change of life,” but they’re only part of the story. suggests this trend may not be inevitable, identifying specific eating patterns that could help prevent weight gain and obesity in middle-aged and older women — and they don’t even have to give up carbs.
Most women tend to put on weight during menopause. New research suggests that diet may still play a powerful role in helping ward off obesity.
“The metabolic change in menopause is real, and it’s a very complicated interaction that’s related to hormones,”, medical director at the Northwell Katz Institute for Women’s Health, who wasn’t involved with the study, told The Post. During the transition, estrogen and other hormones that help regulate feelings of fullness decline, weakening the body’s natural appetite control mechanisms, she explained.
While these physiological shifts can make it harder for perimenopausal and menopausal women to maintain or lose weight, McNally said the study underscores a key takeaway: “What you eat really matters. ” In the study, researchers from Harvard University tracked nearly 40,000 women over the 12 years surrounding their menopausal transition, analyzing how their diets and eating patterns influenced weight fluctuations.
The women’s diets were grouped into 11 different eating styles, with two emerging as the most effective at limiting weight gain. This eating pattern is largely plant-based, emphasizing whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts and legumes, while limiting red meat, added sugar and, Harvard scientists found that adherence to this diet was linked to a lower risk of major causes of death, including cancer, heart disease and lung disease.
When it came to minimizing weight gain year over year during the menopause transition, the so-called low-insulin diet rose to the top.low-carb diet rich in plant-based proteins and healthy fats was linked to less weight gain, a low-carb regimen heavy in animal fats and proteins was associated with the opposite effect.
“It’s not about the low-carb; it’s about what foods you are substituting in that health process,” McNally said. “Really, the foods that are plant-based — that have legumes, vegetables, nuts, whole grains — that’s what’s going to help balance the metabolic health in this transition period for women. And that’s where we have to focus our energy.
”— moving away from the hips and thighs and accumulating more around the abdomen, a change often referred to as a “menobelly” or “menopot. ” Instead of subcutaneous fat — the “pinchable” layer just beneath the skin — this abdominal buildup is often visceral fat, which sits deeper in the body, wrapping around internal organs. That’s a concern because visceral fat is metabolically active, releasing fatty acids, hormones and inflammatory compounds directly into the bloodstream.
Over time, this can create a dangerous cycle that women in menopause may be particularly vulnerable to: as visceral fat releases inflammatory signals, the pancreas responds by producing more insulin, which in turn can encourage the body to store even more visceral fat.
“By choosing diets that have more insulin resistance built into it, like the foods we described, that will actually be the key driver to help maintain, lose weight and ward off an obesity situation,” McNally said. Most women tend to put on weight during menopause. New research suggests that diet may still play a powerful role in helping ward off obesity.
Health Food & Drink Nutrition Diets Eating Exclusive Hormones Menopause Northwell Health Obesity Study Says
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