Aug. 28, 2012 -- As she approached her 50s, Susan Williams
found it harder and harder to maintain her weight , let alone shed the
extra pounds she had been working to lose for some time.
I was working out as hard as I ever have, but I was gaining
weight, the Atlanta-based film production executive says. Its a
constant struggle.
Now 52, Williams says she has recently revamped her diet to include
more fruits and vegetables and less sugar and white flour -- and she's
managed to lose a few pounds.
Menopause Weight Gain Inevitable?
Conventional wisdom says weight gain is inevitable with
menopause and that losing weight is difficult. But a new study questions
this wisdom.
Researchers examined eating behaviors among postmenopausal women in
their 50s enrolled in a weight-loss study. They identified those
behaviors that were common in women who managed to shed pounds and keep
them off.
Cutting way back on sugary desserts and drinks topped the list,
followed by limiting meats and cheeses and eating more fruits and
vegetables.
People who were able to decrease their consumption of desserts and
sugar-sweetened beverages tended to have more success losing weight and
keeping it off, says researcher Bethany Barone Gibbs, PhD, of the
University of Pittsburgh.
Eat Less Sugar, Lose More Weight
The study included about 500 overweight and obese
postmenopausal women with waist sizes greater than 31.5 inches. None of
the women had high blood pressure , heart disease , or diabetes .
Half the women followed a weight loss plan that included regular
meetings with nutritionists, exercise specialists, and psychologists.
None of these options were available to the other women, but they were
given the opportunity to attend seminars on general health.
The women were followed for four years. During this time those in
the nutrition and exercise group lost an average of 8 pounds, compared
to around half a pound among those in the general health group.
Behaviors associated with weight loss at six months in the combined groups included eating:
- Less sugar (desserts and sugar-sweetened beverages)
- Fewer fried foods
- More fish
- Eating out in restaurants less often
After four years, behaviors linked to long-term diet success emerged:
- Also eating fewer desserts and drinking fewer sugar-sweetened beverages
- Eating more fruits and vegetables and fewer meats and cheeses
The study appears in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
Some Eating Behaviors Werent Sustainable
Barone Gibbs speculates that strategies that led to short-term
but not long-term weight loss, such as restricting fried foods and
eating out less often, may be difficult to sustain.
Margery L. Gass, MD, who is executive director of the North
American Menopause Society, tells WebMD that while weight gain is common
among women in their 40s and 50s, menopause is not to blame. Gass is a
professor of obstetrics at the University of Cincinnati.
It happens to men as well as women, she says. For some reason,
as we get older weight seems to redistribute to our middles. This is not
good because fat in the abdomen increases [heart disease and stroke ]
risk.
Eat Less, Exercise More to Avoid Weight Gain
Gass says that while weight gain is not inevitable, most
middle-aged women need to eat less and exercise more than they once did
to maintain their weight.
Virtually all of my patients who have been successful tell me they have done this, she says.
She notes that weight gain around the time of menopause is much
less common in Japan than in the U.S., suggesting that Western eating
patterns are largely to blame.
Women in Japan typically eat more fruits, vegetables, and fish, and
less sugar, red meat, and fast food than women in the United States.
Japanese women also live longer than women in any other country
(an average of 88 years), and their healthier diets are a major reason
for this, Gass says.
