| Women who notice their bodies growing rounder as they get older, may be pleased to hear that their weight gain isn't entirely their fault.
A new study has found that during menopause, a woman's fat metabolism may change, making the body more likely to store fat, less likely to lose it.
Storing fat, not releasing it
Dr Cynthia Ferrara and collegues at the University of Maryland in Baltimore took fat samples from the abdomen and buttocks of 24 women of similar weight and body mass index (a weight to height ratio used to measure obesity).
Half of the women were postmenopausal, while the other half were perimenopausal. Perimenopause is the period several years prior or one-year following the final menstrual period. Perimenopausal women often have irregular menstrual cycles and fat redistribution.
The researchers found that an enzyme, called adipose tissue lipoprotein lipase (AT-LPL), was more active in postmenopausal women than perimenopausal women. AT-LPL breaks down fat into its separate components for absorption into the fat cells.
The postmenopausal women also had reduced lipolysis, the process by which stored fat is released from fat cells. The amount of lipolysis in the buttocks was cut by 75% in postmenopausal women, the researchers found.
The lower lipolysis and higher AT-LPL activity in postmenopausal women may predispose them to gain body fat after menopause, the researchers wrote in their report published in the September issue of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.
Upping the risk of disease
The importance of these findings relate to understanding the risk of cardiovascular disease in older women, the researchers write.
The accumulation of body weight and the changes in fat distribution after menopause increase not only the risk of Type 2 diabetes, but also heart disease.
Preventing weight gain
Although the reasons for the change in fat metabolism are not understood, the researchers believe that hormonal changes during menopause, such as lower levels of oestrogen, may affect fat cell metabolism.
Despite these unavoidable changes, the researchers recommend following a healthy diet and an exercise programme to prevent weight gain as women age. – (Health24)
|
