Many women find it more challenging to keep weight off after the age of 40.
We explore why the kilograms creep on after a certain age…
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Why the age-related weight gain?
The main reason why women gain weight after 40 is because of a shift in their hormone balance.
“From 40 onwards, oestrogen levels begin to drop and the male hormone androgen rises, which results in a redistribution of fat to the stomach area,” explains nutritional therapist and weight-loss consultant, Fiona Greggor.
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The oestrogen factor in weight gain
“The fat cells produce oestrogen and it seems that the brain sends a message to keep fat stores at all costs to maintain oestrogen levels, encouraging excess calories to be stored as fat,” she continues.
Fiona says that studies show that a drop in oestrogen also regulates metabolism in a number of ways.
Firstly, oestrogen may assist women in building muscle and a decline in this hormone could thus result in a loss of muscle mass and an increase in fat mass, particularly around the belly area.
In addition, because metabolically-active muscle tissue keeps the metabolism ‘revved’ up, as it decreases, the metabolism is compromised.
“Oestrogen also plays a part in the regulation of fat metabolism in women and helps to sensitise the cells to insulin, which enables insulin to carry glucose into the cells and therefore prevents excess glucose from being stored as fat,” she explains.
Thus, a woman with lower oestrogen levels will store fat more easily and not burn calories as efficiently.
“Oestrogen also has an anti-cortisol effect, so if cortisol levels are high and oestrogen levels are dropping then this will encourage fat storage,” she adds.
As women age, they also experience a decrease in the production of the hormone progesterone which can cause water retention and bloating.
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A slowing metabolism
The rate at which we burn calories (the metabolic rate), also naturally declines as we get older and this can be a contributing factor to weight gain after 40.
“Our metabolic rate slows down at a rate of approximately 2% every 10 years past the age of 20,” shares Bruce Namhing, a Johannesburg-based ETA-certified personal trainer.
READ MORE | Reboot Your Metabolism To Beat The Bulge
A drop in physical activity
Decreased physical activity as one gets older and an increased appetite due to hormonal changes can also lead to weight gain.
Stress levels tend to also increase as we age and this leads to weight gain because the stress hormone cortisol is released in excess.
This, in turn, increases your appetite, causes cravings for junk food and prompts the body to accumulate fat in the midsection.
Written by Julia Lamberti-Morreira
Author: Pedro van Gaalen
When he’s not writing about sport or health and fitness, Pedro is probably out training for his next marathon or ultra-marathon. He’s worked as a fitness professional and as a marketing and comms expert. He now combines his passions in his role as managing editor at Fitness magazine.
So what should women then do after 40 to combat this? Training program and eating program information will help.