- Obesity is a threat issue for a lot of critical well being situations, together with hypertension, heart problems, and sort 2 diabetes.
- New analysis means that weight problems can also improve the severity of menopausal signs, resembling sizzling flashes.
- In addition, the research discovered that hormone remedy to alleviate menopause signs could also be much less efficient in ladies with weight problems.
Obesity is growing worldwide, with some
Obesity will increase the danger of many well being situations, together with coronary heart assaults, strokes, sort 2 diabetes, respiratory situations, and musculoskeletal issues.
New analysis now means that weight problems can also improve the severity of menopausal signs and cut back the efficacy of hormone remedy in relieving these signs. Lead creator Dr. Anita Pershad, from the Eastern Virginia Medical School, instructed Medical News Today:
“The main takeaway of our study is that obesity may worsen a woman’s menopausal symptoms and limit the amount of relief she gets from hormone therapy (HT).”
However, Dr. Kara McElligot, obstetrician-gynecologist, NAMS-certified menopause practitioner, and medical advisor at Mira, cautioned:
“This was a pilot study (only 119 participants) and was performed retrospectively by chart review. This type of study has a high risk of bias, which means that it cannot prove whether women with obesity have worse menopause symptoms nor whether the efficacy of hormone therapy is lower in women with obesity.”
The findings had been offered on the 2023 Annual Meeting of The Menopause Society in Philadelphia, September 27-30. The analysis hasn’t been revealed in a peer-reviewed journal.
This five-year research examined the well being data of 119 ladies who offered to a menopause clinic. The ladies had been divided into two teams — these with a
There was no important distinction between the 2 teams in age, period of menopause, use of hormone remedy, and remedy acceptance.
The researchers discovered that girls with weight problems had been extra more likely to report signs, together with
Dr. Sherry Ross, OB/GYN and ladies’s well being professional at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, California, instructed MNT why this is perhaps the case:
“It’s thought that obese women experience more hot flashes and night sweats because fatty tissue acts as an insulator trapping heat in the body, generating additional heat.
Others believe that obesity can lead to hormonal imbalances, causing an increased level of estrogen, that contributes to more intense menopausal symptoms.”
Dr. Ashley Parr, D.O., OB/GYN at The Women’s Hospital at MemorialCare Saddleback Medical Center in Laguna Hills, CA, agreed:
“Women with obesity may have a different experience with menopause and treatment. Fat cells have the ability to produce estrogen, so even when the ovaries shut down in menopause, women with obesity could still have a significant amount of estrogen circulating in their bodies. This has a cascade of effects that change the entire hormone balance of the body. “
The women with obesity were also less likely to experience symptomatic relief after systemic and/or localized hormone therapy than women without obesity. Dr. Pershad told MNT that they were investigating why:
“It remains unclear if hormone therapy is less effective in women with obesity overall, or if the expected efficacy can be achieved with alternative design and administration routes. Our research group is actively looking into this area for further elucidation of this topic.”
“Women with obesity are also at risk for many conditions that may make them a poor candidate for hormone replacement, such as heart disease and breast cancer. There are nonhormonal treatment options available such as SSRIs, SNRIs, and vaginal estrogen, depending on the symptom a woman is looking to treat.”
— Dr. Ashley Parr
Dr. McElligot defined why ladies with weight problems may discover hormone remedy much less efficient:
“If we made the assumption that the findings […] were on the right track — the severity and experience of estrogen deficiency is related to multiple factors, and obesity is one of them.”
“Liver drug metabolism studies comparing adults [within a healthy BMI range] versus elevated BMI demonstrate that the amount of circulating drug in their body changes by BMI. […] The majority of studies on the efficacy of hormone therapy are performed in women with [a healthy] BMI. This means that the recommended dosing does not account for the effect of BMI on drug metabolism,” she added.
These signs, which embrace sizzling flashes, night time sweats and disturbed sleep, vaginal dryness, temper adjustments, and a diminished intercourse drive, could also be barely observed by some ladies, however for others, they are often extreme.
Hormone remedy (HT), to switch the estrogen and progesterone that the physique is not producing, is commonly prescribed to assist reduce the signs.
It will not be solely ladies with weight problems who might want alternate options to hormone remedy to alleviate signs of menopause. Some ladies want to use extra pure alternate options, and others have well being situations that imply hormone remedy is unsuitable.
Dr. Ross advised methods to deal with these signs:
“A healthy lifestyle goes a long way at any time in your life, but especially in this later chapter of life. Inactivity, an unhealthy diet (fast food!), smoking, obesity and excessive alcohol consumption, all have a negative impact on your quality of life, especially during menopause. All of these factors only make menopause worse than it needs to be.”
Additionally, she advised:
- A nutritious diet: A weight loss plan targeted on contemporary fruits, greens, entire grains, and fish, with restricted alcohol consumption and little crimson meat (just like the Mediterranean weight loss plan).
- Regular train: Exercise makes you are feeling extra assured and helps ease the stress of menopausal signs.
- Stop smoking: If not for the truth that smoking will increase the danger of coronary heart illness, stroke, lung most cancers, and loss of life, however as a result of it makes sizzling flashes extra frequent and extreme throughout menopause.
- Sleep: It’s mandatory and laborious to come back by in menopause. Getting not less than seven hours an evening is good.
- Acupuncture and leisure methods, together with mindfulness, biofeedback, hypnosis, cognitive habits remedy, yoga and Tai Chi could also be useful in controlling temper swings, despair, nervousness, sizzling flashes, and different delicate signs of menopause.
However, she additionally suggested that girls with weight problems ought to be inspired to shed pounds, as this “will not only help manage their menopausal symptoms, but will also reduce their incidence of heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer, adult onset of diabetes and other life threatening health problems.”
And Dr. Parr echoed this recommendation:
“Ultimately, weight loss, either prior to or after menopause, should be the goal. Any movement toward a healthy weight will help bring the hormone levels back to the intended physiologic level and will help reduce the compounding of symptoms that can be seen with menopause and obesity.”
