Obesity has always been a big cause of alarm for health care providers. A lot of adverse effects of being overweight and obese are well-established. Obesity, at any given age, is caused by a lot of different factors. However, for women, obesity appears to start settling in after menopause. What happens?
What is menopause?
Menopause is when a womans body naturally stops having menstrual or reproductive cycles. This is manifested by a permanent absence of monthly periods or menstruation. This signals the end of the fertile phase of a womans life. Menopause is triggered when the ovaries start faltering or shutting down. When the ovaries have shut down, it can no longer produce reproductive hormones necessary to a womans menstrual cycle. It will then cause a series of changes in the womans body and psyche.
Menopause and Obesity
At menopause, women lose a vital hormone in the body estrogen. The sudden change in hormonal levels in the body causes a multitude of changes in the way the body functions. Recent studies show that the sudden drop of the bodys estrogen level can cause a metabolic condition characterized by the following: