Middle Age - Adds weight?
When we reach middle age, do we automatically gain weight? It kind of looks like it. I’d say 90% of the people around that age I know have some spare tires around their waist. Is it an inevitable negative of advancing age? The weight gain is a bit more noticeable on women, this is because their shape changes during menopause. The average menopause adds about 15 pounds to your weight. What this basically means is that even if you consume the same amount of calories you will still gain weight. An article I read takes a look at this issue and discusses possible ways to fight or prevent weight gain during middle age.
Typical menopause weight gain stacks up to 12 to 15 pounds, a source of constant complaint along with the night sweats and hot flashes. In addition, our metabolic rate - the calories our body burns just to exist - decreases by five percent per decade as we go into midlife. That means even if we eat the same amount of calories we always did, we’ll still gain weight. Who said life was fair?
Estrogen, metabolism — can we blame anything else? Almost 10 percent of women develop hypothyroidism. Hypo means lower or less - and hypothyroidism means your thyroid is producing less of the hormones that keep your metabolism humming. Hypothyroidism is another reason behind decreased metabolic rate, although in this instance taking thyroid medication truly does help and is definitely recommended.CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL ARTICLE