Is Age Responsible for Midlife Weight Gain?
While we tend to think of the time around and before menopause as the "prime time" for weight gain, that may not be accurate. One four year study of 336 African American and Caucasian women aged 35-47 found that women aged 45-47 were less likely to gain ten or more pounds than the 35-39 year olds (Samuel, Family Practice, 2003)! Thus, we may need to be focusing on women in their thirties to stop "weight creep."
There are studies which have looked at what is the "usual" amount of weight gained as women age. Among women in the "Nurses Health Study," monitored for up to 24 years, the average weight gain since age 18 was 26.5 pounds. Of that, only 6.6 pounds had been gained after menopause. Again you can see that there was not a big jump in weight gain after age 50.
Another thing which may not be apparent is that, according to one large study of over 8,000 women, over 1/3 of women followed for two years actually lost weight over a two year period. About one third of women gained, and about one quarter stayed the same (Williams, International Journal of Obesity, 2006). Yet the average or "mean" weight gain was about a pound a year. So sometimes the actual spectrum of personal weight changes can be hidden inside a quote for an "average" weight gain. The take home message here is that at least one third of women will gain up to or over 5 pounds in two years during late midlife.
Coming next: Is Menopause Responsible for Midlife Weight Gain?
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Related Topics: Technorati Tags: women's health, weight, obesity, menopause, age, health and wellness
There are studies which have looked at what is the "usual" amount of weight gained as women age. Among women in the "Nurses Health Study," monitored for up to 24 years, the average weight gain since age 18 was 26.5 pounds. Of that, only 6.6 pounds had been gained after menopause. Again you can see that there was not a big jump in weight gain after age 50.
Another thing which may not be apparent is that, according to one large study of over 8,000 women, over 1/3 of women followed for two years actually lost weight over a two year period. About one third of women gained, and about one quarter stayed the same (Williams, International Journal of Obesity, 2006). Yet the average or "mean" weight gain was about a pound a year. So sometimes the actual spectrum of personal weight changes can be hidden inside a quote for an "average" weight gain. The take home message here is that at least one third of women will gain up to or over 5 pounds in two years during late midlife.
Coming next: Is Menopause Responsible for Midlife Weight Gain?
Related Blogs:
Related Topics: Technorati Tags: women's health, weight, obesity, menopause, age, health and wellness
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