Gaining weight around the midsection is a common and often frustrating side effect of menopause. Nicknamed ‘meno belly’, menopausal weight gain around the abdomen typically occurs in response to age, hormone fluctuations, body composition changes, genetics, and altered body fat distribution.
The result is an accumulation of visceral fat, particularly around the abdominal organs.
Visceral fat is not only harder to lose but it also contributes to the onset of heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, and hypertension in postmenopausal women. Therefore, losing menopause belly fat is just as important for long-term health as it is to improve physical appearance.
Read on to learn the 6 best ways to lose menopause belly fat, improve your overall health, and avoid more serious conditions later in life.
What Is Visceral Fat?
Subcutaneous fat is stored under the skin all over the body where it protects the muscles and bones, boosts energy, and aids in temperature regulation. Visceral fat is stored around internal organs, and when it occurs in the midsection it is medically referred to as central adiposity.
While some visceral fat can serve as protection for organs, too much can impact one’s overall health and result in serious conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, and hypertension.
Menopause belly is caused by a collection of visceral fat, normally accumulating due to age, lifestyle choices, hormone fluctuations, and the compositional changes they can trigger throughout the body.
Why You’re Gaining Menopause Belly Fat
Any weight gain can be impacted by how many calories are burned compared to how many calories are consumed – which also rings true during perimenopause. Age, genetics, and hormone levels also play a role in the accumulation of menopause belly fat.
Lasting anywhere from 7 to 12 years, perimenopause readies the body for the end of the reproductive process by signaling the body to produce less estrogen and progesterone. This change in hormone levels impacts the body in several ways. Irregular menstruation, hot flashes, brain fog, vaginal dryness, low libido, and abdominal weight gain are common during this time.
Although testosterone typically begins to decline in women before perimenopause, low or high testosterone in comparison to perimenopausal estrogen levels can also contribute to perimenopause symptoms, including belly fat.
With age, the metabolism and distribution of fat are altered too, and perimenopause can further impact both. Studies have also concluded that genetics can play a role in menopausal belly fat by identifying similarities between mother and daughter symptoms during the menopause transition.
How Do Hormone Changes Cause Menopause Belly?
Although primarily known as sex hormones that support menstruation and the reproductive system, estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone also support other body parts.
Estrogen, for example, supports almost every organ, tissue, muscle, and bone in the female body. Progesterone boosts sleep, moods, and bone rejuvenation. And testosterone is important for brain function, energy levels, metabolism, and a healthy libido.
Based on how your hormones fluctuate during perimenopause (it happens differently for everyone), various changes can occur throughout the body that are known to increase belly fat in the following ways:
Estrogen
Diminishing estrogen levels during perimenopause can result in a loss of muscle mass. Toned muscles burn more calories than fat when the body is at rest, so when muscle declines due to low estrogen levels the metabolism slows down and fat deposits typically replace the muscle.
Research has shown that abdominal muscle tone is largely affected by low estrogen levels during menopause and replaced with visceral fatty tissue.
The loss of muscle mass during perimenopause is just one of the symptoms of the Musculoskeletal Syndrome of Menopause. Known to affect upward of 70% of women during the menopause transition, musculoskeletal symptoms can also include loss of bone density, joint pain (arthralgia), and the progression of osteoarthritis.
These musculoskeletal changes are underlying and largely unrecognizable to begin with. However, extra weight gain during perimenopause puts added pressure on bones that are losing density, which increases the likelihood of fractures, the onset of osteoporosis, and osteoarthritis postmenopause.
Declining estrogen is also believed to lower serotonin and dopamine levels. Low levels of both are known to adversely affect an individual’s moods, energy levels, motivation for exercise, and healthy dietary choices.
Progesterone
Known to support moods, sleep, and bone rejuvenation, declining progesterone levels also have an impact on the accumulation of menopausal belly fat. Bones are in a constant state of flux, both building and removing bone tissue. Progesterone prevents the loss of bone tissue and declining levels during perimenopause can contribute to lower bone mass.
Low progesterone levels could contribute to joint pain caused by low estrogen levels, making it harder to find motivation for exercise.
Low progesterone levels during perimenopause can sometimes disrupt usual sleep patterns too and increase cortisol levels.
Sleep deprivation leads to fatigue, which can cause individuals to make poor food choices for a sugar boost that increases weight gain. High cortisol levels typically contribute to an increased sense of anxiety and stress, both of which can trigger poor eating habits and the choice to skip exercise.
Testosterone
Low testosterone can slow metabolism and impact the loss of muscle mass during the menopause transition, which inevitably slows calorie burning and further adds to weight gain around the midsection. Diminished testosterone can also result in less energy and lowered physical activity during perimenopause and menopause.
When testosterone levels are high compared to estrogen levels during perimenopause, body fat distribution is altered and commonly results in an increased collection of visceral fat around the midsection. When testosterone levels are higher than usual, women might also notice more hair growth on the face and less on the scalp.
The 6 Best Ways to Lose Menopause Belly Fat
Due to the various factors that can contribute to menopause belly fat, lifestyle changes are often required to eliminate it. Depending on the individual and their lifestyle choices, some or all of the following tips can be applied.
1. Eat Like a Mediterranean Person
A Mediterranean diet is typically rich in fiber, fruits, and vegetables and low in sugar and carbohydrates. While added sugars and carbs can spike blood sugar levels and cause weight gain, fibrous foods stabilize blood sugar levels to manage weight gain. They are also more filling, boost gut health, and are low in calories.
Healthy fibrous foods that are known to aid in the loss of menopausal weight gain include; almonds, black beans, chickpeas, fruits, lentils, wholegrains like quinoa, brown rice, oats, vegetables, chia seeds, and flax seeds.
To incorporate the right dietary choices for eliminating meno belly, consulting a nutritionist or dietician is helpful to create a plan that suits your eating preferences.
2. Protein for Bone & Muscle Health
Throughout life, an adequate protein intake helps the muscles and bones stay healthy and recover after exercise. During the menopause transition, protein is more important than ever to counteract the impact of low estrogen on the muscles and bones.
It is recommended that perimenopausal women consume at least 100 grams of protein daily to sustain healthy bone density and muscle mass. Protein-rich foods include; eggs, beans, fish, lean red meat, lentils, nuts, and seeds. Some women may be recommended to supplement protein through powders.
Once again, a dietician or nutritionist is helpful to ensure adequate protein is consumed through diet choices.
3. Calcium & Vitamin D
Consuming enough daily calcium is a great way to maintain bone health during perimenopause, eliminate pain during exercise, manage weight gain, and prevent osteoporosis later in life. Dairy products and leafy green vegetables like spinach and kale are natural and rich sources of calcium. Pistachio nuts, almonds, sunflower seeds, and chia seeds are rich in calcium too.
To help the gut absorb ingested calcium, adequate amounts of vitamin D are required. Most people obtain vitamin D from sunshine and are often deficient in winter. Because insufficient vitamin D levels mean less calcium absorption for the bones, perimenopausal women are advised to consume vitamin D ideally via food or if unable, via supplements during the darker winter months.
Fatty fish like mackerel, salmon, and sardines are high in vitamin D, as are egg yolks and fortified dairy products.
4. Regular Exercise
Once the bones and muscles are fortified with nutritional foods, exercising during perimenopause becomes less arduous and more enjoyable for many, particularly once results are apparent. In addition to eliminating belly fat, regular exercise improves mental well-being, cognitive function, sleep, and cardiovascular health for perimenopausal women.
Aerobic exercise will boost moods, improve metabolism, burn calories, and decrease body fat. Incorporating some strength training for healthy bone density and muscle mass during perimenopause is equally important.
For best results, combine a mix of aerobic exercise and strength training each week, aiming for 2-3 sessions of each.
5. Anxiety & Stress Management
Stress and anxiety are common symptoms of perimenopause due to fluctuating hormones, lack of sleep, weight gain, changes in physical appearance, and a plethora of other life-altering symptoms. Stress, anxiety, and hormone changes also increase cortisol release, which typically increases cravings for the wrong type of food and triggers fat storage in the belly.
Meditation, yoga, and breathwork are proven methods of reducing stress & anxiety and lowering cortisol levels to improve metabolic rate. Relaxation practices impact the body and mind best when performed in the morning as a fresh start to each day, but midday or evening practices are just as helpful.
6. Menopause Hormone Therapy
Even though it experienced some bad press since the poorly presented results of the 2002 study, menopause hormone therapy (MHT) is considered a safe and effective method of treating perimenopause symptoms by medical experts.
In addition to slowing down the loss of estrogen to ease the menopause transition, MHT relieves perimenopause symptoms such as loss of bone density and muscle mass, hot flashes, brain fog, and vaginal dryness.
Estrogen-based MHT has also been found to reduce menopause belly fat (central adiposity).
When the womb is intact, estrogen therapy is combined with progesterone to protect the uterus, and it can also improve sleep and bone regeneration. If testosterone is low, it may be administered to boost energy levels, libido, and metabolism.
Although the type and combination of MHT administered to each individual can vary depending on their perimenopausal hormone levels, the right dose can re-balance hormone fluctuations, reduce the severity of symptoms, and protect women’s overall health.
To find the right hormone combination for you, schedule a consultation with a menopause expert or gynecologist to understand more about your hormones and how their fluctuations affect your body.
Read: How to Lose Weight During Menopause
Conclusion
Experiencing an increase in weight around the abdomen is common during perimenopause and is typically caused by a combination of aging, lifestyle choices, genetics, and the impact of hormone fluctuations.
Although aging and genetics play a role in weight gain during this time, perimenopause symptoms such as lowered bone density, decreased muscle mass, slower metabolism, increased stress, altered food cravings, and interrupted sleep can result in less desire to exercise and poor food choices.
The result is often an accumulation of visceral fat around the abdominal organs, which can lower one’s overall health in addition to changing their physical appearance. To eliminate menopause belly fat, follow our top tips above.
More Reads
Regular Sex and Its Link to Delayed Menopause
References
National Library of Medicine - Weight, Shape, and Body Composition Changes at Menopause - https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8569454/
National Library of Medicine - Subcutaneous and Visceral Adipose Tissue: Structural and Functional Differences - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19656312/
Medical News Today – Everything You Need to Know About Estrogen - https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/277177
National Library of Medicine - The Musculoskeletal Syndrom of Menopause - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39077777/
Cleveland Clinic - Progesterone - https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/24562-progesterone
Balance Menopause - The Importance of Testosterone for Women - https://www.balance-menopause.com/menopause-library/importance-of-testosterone-for-women/
Zoe – How to Eat During Perimenopause for Your Weight and Health - https://zoe.com/learn/perimenopause-diet
Mayo Clinic - Perimenopause & Menopause Weightlifting: Expert explains Value for bone health - https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/perimenopause-menopause-and-weightlifting-expert-explains-value-for-bone-health/
National Library of Medicine - Menopausal Hormone Therapy Is Associated With Reduced Total and Visceral Adiposity: The OsteoLaus Cohort - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29596606/
Dr. Barb DePree, M.D., has been a gynecologist and women’s health provider for almost 30 years and a menopause care specialist for the past ten.