Weight and Menopause?

Anyone know if there is a correlation between being overweight and starting menopause.  Does being fat make you go into early menopause?  Getting old sucks.

You think getting old sucks?, being old and getting old (to me) is all a state of mind.  The alternative isn't so appealing...so try and make the best of it by being in the best health you can be in...as for your question?....I don't have an answer to that...however my ob/gyn says there's more of a correalation between the age you started menstruating and when you "may" embark on menopause.  The earlier you started...the earlier you'll start menopause and visa versa...according to her!

Thanks.  I don't know if 47 is early or normal.  I've got an appointment with my OB/GYN next week.  I just thought maybe my fat didn't help. 

 I agree, age is a state of mind - but also of body. My mind still feels young, but my body is beginning to turn on me! It's harder to lose weight and maintain a healthy weight.  Going through menopause sucks. I'm sure my extra weight is contributing to stiffness. And to top it off, I now need reading glasses!

I'm committed to having a healthier lifestyle to minimize my body's betrayal and to help my mind be right!

I don't think 47 is early...friends of mine have started menopause as soon as their early 40's...but I"m not a Dr.  I'm going on 52 and still no signs of menopause...sigh!!!  Reading glasses are something I had to get when I was around 40 ish....just couldn't see that small print on Aleve bottles anymore...but then who can?!

Your body changes all the time....normal progression of life....I feel better now that I did a few years ago...and losing weight gets harder as you get older.  It's my understanding that 50 and above should subtract an additional 10% off what it takes "just to maintain" your weight since our metabolisms slow a bit...I'm 5'!" by the way...almost a twin in height!

Keep up the committment to good health and keep your spirits up!!

Thanks Jaylynn!

My theory on menopause and weight gain is related to the opposite: the way lack of body fat keeps women from having periods.   I think (I'm not a doctor or in any health-related field) that as you approach menopause, and your estrogen levels wane, your body doesn't realize that the problem is low estrogen, but rather it thinks that the problem is not enough fat on your body to use the estrogen.  Hence, it's harder and harder to lose weight, and sooooooo much easier to gain!  At 48 1/2, I've been perimenopausal for several years.  The hot flashes became really bad about 2 years ago.  Nine years ago I had lost about 30 pounds of "baby fat" (my baby was 5 years old at the time) and got to 135 on my 5'3" frame.  When I started having changes in my periods, getting "whiskers" on my chin, etc., I started gaining all that weight back.  I've noticed that when I managed to lose 5 pounds (again), the intensity of my hot flashes went up - to the point where my arms and other areas would actually tingle during the flashes.  When I gained those 5 pounds back (which is why I joined CC), the hot flashes are still there, but not as intense. 

I wonder how long I'm going to have to put up with these "power surges" - my mother is 78 and still gets them!  Which leads me to wonder whether or not hot flashes (after menopause) are related to sugar consumption - Mom loves her candy.  (Unfortunately, she passed her sweet tooth - or is it just her bad habits? - on to me.)  Mom's not overweight though - the candy calories pretty much replace healthy food calories.

I am 42 now, last year I lost about 20lbs and then I found the weight stopped coming off even though I had at least anpother 28lb's to go. My cycle became erratic and then I started having Hot flashes. Its almost like the weightloss triggered it all. I knew Oestrogen was stored in fat cells mainly round the tummy

and that is where most of my weight loss came from.

 

Now the Hot flashes seem to be permanent although I havent reached Menopause yet. I find I have to burn many more calories to lose a single LB each week, this means Im actually taking in a lot less calories than are recommended on this site but otherwise I only maintain. Maybe I should put my age as higher on the tools page as the average woman at 42 wont be close to Menopause ?

 

Increased percentage of body fat means you have more estrogen in your body. So, the poster who seemed to notice a difference in hot flashes when she gained five pounds might have seen some effect of the estrogen ameliorating menopausal symptoms (but there are other hormone replacement options :)

That said, I don't believe there is any correlation between weight and menopause. We are born with a certain number of eggs, and when they're gone ... we're done. You may have started cycling earlier as an child/adolescent if you were heavier. Even so, it would still depend on your genetics. If your mother/other primary female relatives entered menopause at about this age, it wouldn't be unusual for you to follow the same pattern. If, however, your cycle was disrupted by pregnancies, nursing/extended nursing, irregular eating or weight loss that resulted in amenorrhea ... then your eggs may still be "available" and menopause may be later than it might have been.

There are medications and other conditions that can induce or mimic menopausal symptoms, so it's good that you have an appointment with your doc. I don't think 47 is an unsual age to be experiencing signs of impending menopause/perimenopause ... but they could continue for another 10 years. That, plus pregnant women; women "revving back up" with cycles after lactation/nursing; patients who have been through re-feeding for an eating disorder often experience hot flashes as hormonal levels fluctuate. Hot flashes can occur anytime there is hormonal fluctuation ... up or down, and lots of lifestyle and other issues could affect your body's homeostasis.

(I am not a health professional).