Why Do Women Experience Middle-Aged Weight Gain? Introducing the Causes and Solutions
An old high school classmate you haven't seen in a while.
Have you ever empathized with a friend who used to be slim but has started to worry about changes in her body shape as she ages?
As you get older, the concern that your body shape changes even though your food intake remains the same is a common theme shared by many women. Many of you may have experienced that as you age, you cannot feel the effects even if you diet or exercise, or that you gain weight even though the amount you eat has not changed.
However, please do not give up just because you think you are already old.
Here, we will introduce the causes of and solutions for middle-aged weight gain.
[Table of Contents]
1.Causes of middle-aged weight gain
2.Causes of women's middle-aged weight gain
3.Age-specific countermeasures for women's middle-aged weight gain
4.How to resolve middle-aged weight gain
5.What is Corallodiscus flabellate, an ingredient attracting attention for resolving middle-aged weight gain for those over 50?
Middle-aged weight gain is one of the signs of aging. As we age, our bodily functions decline.
It can be considered a sign of aging in the same way as increasing gray hair, losing focus when reading text, or experiencing shallower sleep.
The biggest cause of becoming prone to weight gain with age lies in the decline of basal metabolism.
1-1. Decline in basal metabolism
Basal metabolism is the energy required to maintain life, such as breathing, moving the heart, and maintaining body temperature.
Of the energy consumed in a day, the energy consumed by physical activities such as housework, labor, and exercise accounts for only about 30% of the total, and it is said that a whopping 60% of energy is consumed by basal metabolism.
Therefore, a decline in basal metabolism leads to a decrease in energy consumption.
The basal metabolic rate is greatly influenced by body composition, namely the ratio of muscle to fat, and one of the reasons basal metabolic rate decreases with age is the decrease in muscle mass.
This is because muscles consume about 20% of the body's total energy, consuming a large amount of energy alongside the brain and liver.
1-2. Age peak of basal metabolism
Because women tend to store subcutaneous fat easily as a reserve for the nursing period, they generally have less muscle mass and tend to have a lower basal metabolic rate compared to men.
Furthermore, women's basal metabolic rate peaks at ages 12 to 14 and gradually declines.
Not limited to middle-aged weight gain, if the energy taken in through meals exceeds the energy consumed, the excess energy will be stored in the body, leading to weight gain.
Despite the fact that energy consumption through basal metabolism has decreased, if you eat junk food or sweet snacks with the same mindset as when you were in your teens and 20s, excess energy will unknowingly be stored in your body, leading to a situation where you gain weight even though you eat the same amount.
The cause of middle-aged weight gain in women is not just the decline in basal metabolism.
Disturbances in the balance of female hormones due to menopause also have a major impact.
2-1. Menopausal disorders
A woman's "menopause" refers to the approximately 10 years before and after the cessation of menstruation.
Although there are individual differences, it is generally said that women reach menopause around the age of 50, and generally, the period from 45 to 55 corresponds to menopause.
The various physical ailments and emotional instability seen during this period are called menopausal disorders.
Menopausal disorders are caused by a rapid decrease in the secretion of "estrogen," which is one of the female hormones.
Major symptoms of menopause include sudden sweating and hot flashes, irritability, anxiety, lethargy, stiff shoulders, dizziness, and headaches.
Estrogen surges around the age of 8 to 9, maintains a high secretion level in the 20s, starts to decrease from the late 30s, and rapidly drops around the age of 45.
Nowadays, there are also women in their 20s and 30s who complain of physical ailments similar to those seen in menopause.
This is called "petit menopause" or "pre-menopause," but it is said that when stress increases or irregular lifestyles continue, the autonomic nervous system loses its balance and estrogen decreases, resulting in menopause-like symptoms.
2-2. Decrease in estrogen
Because estrogen also has the function of promoting fat burning, when estrogen secretion decreases during menopause, the body becomes less able to burn fat and more prone to storing visceral fat.
In addition, estrogen has the function of stimulating the brain's satiety center, and it is said that women post-menopause are more prone to overeating because this stimulation decreases.
3.Age-specific countermeasures for women's middle-aged weight gain
Although we say countermeasures for middle-aged weight gain, the points to focus on actually differ by age group.
Here, let's look at women's countermeasures against middle-aged weight gain by age group.
3-1. The cause of middle-aged weight gain in women from their 30s is a decline in basal metabolism
Many people might have experienced that in their teens and 20s, they didn't gain weight even if they ate a lot, and lost weight quickly if they dieted, but after entering their 30s, it became harder to lose weight.
The main cause of women gaining weight from their 30s is the decline in basal metabolism.
In addition, combined with a decrease in activity levels compared to their teens and 20s, energy consumption decreases, so eating the same way leads to weight gain.
Up until your 20s, you can succeed in dieting just by slightly restricting your meals, but from your 30s onwards, this is not the case.
If you try to lose weight only by restricting your diet in your 30s, you will lose muscle and paradoxically develop a constitution that makes it hard to lose weight.
Also, in your 30s, work becomes busier, which can lead to irregular eating habits.
There are cases where meal times become irregular, such as skipping breakfast or eating at times when it is easy to gain weight, and cases where poor nutritional balance due to a biased diet prevents energy from being used properly, causing it to be stored as fat.
In order for women in their 30s and older to acquire a body that is hard to gain weight and easy to lose weight, it is important to pay attention to exercise and diet to raise their basal metabolism even a little.
3-2. Aerobic exercise and diet restriction
To increase basal metabolism, aerobic exercise and light muscle training are effective.
Aerobic exercise refers to exercise with a relatively light load on the muscles that uses oxygen to convert sugar and fat in the body into energy.
Walking, jogging, swimming, yoga, and cycling are typical examples.
When aerobic exercise is continued for a certain period of time, the body begins to consume fat as an energy source.
Therefore, a reduction in LDL cholesterol, neutral fat, and body fat in the blood can be expected.
It is more effective to perform simple muscle training such as squats or sit-ups before walking.
Muscle training makes the body more prone to burning fat, and building muscle also increases basal metabolism.
Single-item diets such as the apple diet or cabbage diet, or extreme dietary restrictions with poor balance such as eating only salads, risk creating a body that easily gains weight.
It is also important to consume a well-balanced intake of nutrients such as protein, which is the material for muscles, and vitamins and minerals, which are essential for metabolism.
Please note that the dietary restrictions you are undertaking to lose weight may paradoxically be creating a body that gains weight easily.
3-3. The cause of middle-aged weight gain in women over 40 is hormonal imbalance
Women are very busy with work, housework, and raising children.
Many people may be exhausted both physically and mentally, feeling that they don't have time to exercise even if they want to, they are accumulating stress, or they cannot sleep soundly.
The cause of middle-aged weight gain in women over 40 is largely related to hormonal imbalances.
There are over 100 types of hormones in the body working for physical and mental health.
For example, there is "growth hormone" which maintains the body while you sleep, "melatonin" which induces sleep and boosts immunity, "serotonin" which relieves stress and makes you feel happy, and "estrogen" which is a beauty skin hormone for women.
The secretion amount of growth hormone peaks around age 20, drops to half of its peak around age 40, and decreases to about one-fourth around age 60.
The secretion amount of estrogen also remains high in the 20s, but starts to decrease from the late 30s, and rapidly decreases from around age 45.
3-4. Sleep
Lack of sleep and a decline in sleep quality can also cause middle-aged weight gain.
When you are sleep-deprived, the amount of growth hormone, which is secreted abundantly during sleep, decreases, metabolism drops, and it becomes easier to gain weight.
In addition, the hormone "leptin," which has an appetite-suppressing effect, is secreted during sleep. Conversely, when you are sleep-deprived, the secretion of the hormone "ghrelin," which stimulates the appetite, increases.
According to a study in the US, there is data showing that "people with shorter sleep durations have a higher risk of becoming obese compared to people who sleep 7 to 8 hours."
Experimental data such as "sleeping for 5 hours or less makes it easier to gain weight" and "sleeping too much also causes weight gain" have also been published.
To resolve middle-aged weight gain, it can be said that about 7 hours of sleep is desired.
3-5. Chewing (Mastication)
It is often said that "eating fast makes you fat." One of the reasons is the relationship between chewing and energy consumption.
This is called "Diet-Induced Thermogenesis (DIT)," where energy is consumed to digest and absorb the food eaten.
It is known that eating slowly and chewing well significantly increases diet-induced thermogenesis.
The energy consumed after a single meal is not that much, but considering it is consumed at every meal, it is by no means a small amount.
Also, taking the time to chew your food well stimulates the "satiety center" and secretes hormones that suppress appetite, so you can prevent overeating.
Chewing well increases the secretion of serotonin, the happiness hormone, which relaxes the mind and is effective in adjusting the autonomic nervous system.
During meals, it is said that chewing about 30 times per bite is ideal.
3-6. Avoid carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are one of the energy-producing nutrients (the three major macronutrients) and are an important nutrient that serves as an energy source.
They are abundantly contained in cereals such as rice, bread, and noodles, as well as potatoes.
After being taken into the body as food, they are used as energy, but the unconsumed excess sugar is stored in the body as neutral fat.
Carbohydrates are broken down in the body and taken into the blood as glucose. When a large amount of sugar enters the blood, blood sugar levels skyrocket.
When blood sugar levels rise suddenly, a large amount of insulin, also called the "obesity hormone," is released to store the sugar, which causes weight gain.
Carbohydrates eaten as staple foods, such as rice, bread, udon, and pasta, contain a lot of sugar.
We tend to overeat them, but reducing the intake of carbohydrates is the most important point to prevent middle-aged weight gain.
3-7. The loss of estrogen due to menopause and physical changes
Generally, women's menopause is said to be around the age of 50. Middle-aged weight gain in women in their 50s is partly caused by the loss of estrogen due to menopause and physical changes.
After menopause, the female hormone "estrogen" is no longer secreted.
With the presence of female hormones, cholesterol levels that were previously kept in check will rise, and this, coupled with a decline in basal metabolism, makes it easier to gain weight.
In addition, because female hormones are no longer secreted, the risk of developing diseases such as arteriosclerosis, which men are prone to, increases.
3-8. Exercise
Exercise is not something that can only be done by going to a gym and changing into sportswear.
Since physical abilities have declined compared to when you were young, starting hard exercise suddenly can lead to injuries or pain in the joints and lower back.
By steadily continuing 20 minutes of walking or stretching every day, the autonomic nerves will work smoothly and blood will flow smoothly, rejuvenating the body.
If you cannot exercise, you can get sufficient training with a little conscious effort, such as using the stairs instead of the escalator or elevator, raising and lowering your toes while brushing your teeth, or sitting with your knees tightly closed while watching TV.
It might also be a good idea to try finding ways to increase your amount of exercise in your daily life.
3-9. Protein intake
When protein is deficient, skin and hair lose their luster, and it becomes harder to lose weight.
Protein is not only a constituent element that makes up the body but is also indispensable as a raw material for hormones, enzymes, and immune substances.
It is one of the nutrients that must be consumed even during dietary restrictions.
If protein is lacking, the body tries to make up for the deficiency by breaking down the protein that makes up the body, causing muscle loss, a drop in basal metabolism, and a decline in physical strength and immunity.
Actively consume foods rich in protein, such as meat, seafood, beans, soy products, eggs, and dairy products.
Resolving middle-aged weight gain involves improving basal metabolism through exercise, avoiding carbohydrates, and consuming protein.
4-1. Improving basal metabolism through exercise
Continuing aerobic exercise creates a body that easily burns fat and allows the autonomic nervous system to function sharply.
As a result, blood flows smoothly, metabolism improves, and basal metabolism increases.
To increase basal metabolism, increasing muscle mass is essential, and for that purpose, it is important to exercise every day without fail.
4-2. Avoiding carbohydrates and consuming protein
The causes of middle-aged weight gain are "a decline in basal metabolism," "too much sugar intake," and "changes in hormonal balance."
It is important to avoid excessive carbohydrate intake and actively consume high-quality protein.
In addition, various vitamins and minerals are essential for energy metabolism.
If vitamins and minerals are lacking, the food you eat cannot be converted into energy, resulting in a surplus of sugar even if you do not consume too many carbohydrates.
5.What is Corallodiscus flabellate, an ingredient attracting attention for resolving middle-aged weight gain for those over 50?
In a small village deep in the mountains of China, there are 81 people over 100 years old, with the oldest being 120.
When investigating the reason they can live long without gaining weight, it was discovered that they ate the phantom flower, Corallodiscus flabellate.
"Corallodiscus flabellate", a flower that blooms only once every three years, targets carbohydrates, and taking it before meals has been recognized to have the effect of preventing a rise in blood sugar levels.
Suppressing the rise in blood sugar levels can be said to be an indispensable countermeasure for middle-aged diets.
It is recommended to take Corallodiscus flabellate as a supplement, but due to its high rarity value and difficulty to obtain, it is also called the "phantom sugar flower powder".
