Menopause, Mental Health, and Your Relationship with Your Body: Does Menopause Impact Weight Gain?
Mental health struggles and eating disorders don’t discriminate when it comes to age—anyone can develop one at any time. Research has placed an emphasis on adolescence and young adulthood and how these formative years may influence eating habits and Body Image, but menopause is another biological, age-dependent factor that we know can influence eating disorder symptoms and mental health in general. The transition to menopause, like puberty, is a window of vulnerability for developing mental health conditions such as an eating disorder or relapsing if you’ve dealt with disordered eating and mental health challenges in the past1. Here’s what happens, how it might impact your mental and physical health, and what you can do about it!
What is Menopause?
Like many other phases of life, menopause is a time full of change and transition. Let’s break down the three stages: Perimenopause, or “menopause transition”, begins as your ovaries produce less and less estrogen over time, causing a variety of symptoms such as irregular periods, hot flashes, and mood swings2. Menopause itself begins at the loss of your period. At this stage your body is no longer releasing eggs and is producing even less estrogen, and this occurs 12 months after your last period2. This leads us to postmenopause, the final stage and where most of the symptoms of perimenopause and menopause finally start to ease up.
What’s Changing?
As estrogen levels begin to decrease between the ages of 45 and 55, you might notice some of the changes associated with menopause3. First, you might notice irregularities in your period and hot flashes. Sleep is usually impacted, too, especially if you’re experiencing hot flashes at nighttime. You might struggle to fall asleep, wake up too early, or even experience night sweats and have trouble falling back to sleep. Since getting a good night’s rest is important for day-to-day functioning, this might be especially tough to deal with during this time. A variety of reasons might contribute to changes in mood, such as feeling tired, stressed, or even hormonal changes. Naturally, mood shifts can influence how we feel mentally, but also how we feel about our bodies. During this time, you might notice changes in your physical body and appearance, such as changes in weight and energy levels.
What This Means for Your Mental and Physical Health
These changes might be challenging and uncomfortable, especially when it comes to how they can so easily influence how you’re feeling both mentally and physically. The hormonal changes that accompany menopause may cause you to experience changes in your mood, mental health, and even your physical body, all of which can cause a significant negative impact on body image and body satisfaction1,4. You might notice changes in your physical body and mental health despite not making any changes to your current routine or eating habit. Gaining weight specifically in the midsection is common, along with a decrease in muscle mass due to the shift in hormones and the process of aging in general5. This might lead you to develop negative feelings about your body, feel as though you’re doing something wrong, and fall into the trap of restricting your diet or overexercising to compensate for these changes when in reality this is the opposite of helpful! Crash dieting and reducing the amount of food you’re eating puts your body into survival mode, so it’ll actually reduce the amount of energy you’re burning and completely mess with your body in the long run5. This is why it’s so important to resist the temptation to diet if you start to notice changes in your body and how you’re feeling about yourself! The best thing to do is develop balanced eating habits that include nutritional foods without sacrificing sweets and treats. Establishing a routine that also allows you to prioritize sleep, find ways to move your body that feel good for you, and eat without restriction are all things you can do to balance your mood, take care of your physical body, and manage the onset of menopause and the changes that come along with it.
If these are things you’re struggling with and you’re looking to find balance and routine during this new season of life, schedule a consultation with one of our team members and let’s chat about it! We’re here to help you navigate this transition, develop healthy coping skills, and work through these changes with you head-on!
References:
Mangweth-Matzek, B., Hoek, H. W., Rupp, C. I., Gemmler, G., Pope, J. G. Jr., & Kinzl, J. (2013). The menopausal transition—A possible window of vulnerability for eating pathology. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 46(6), 609-616. https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.22157
National Institute of Aging. (2021, September 21). What is menopause? https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/menopause/what-menopause#transition
Cleveland Clinic. (2024, June 24). Menopause. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/21841-menopause
Finch, J. E., Xu, Z., Girdler, S., & Baker, J. H. (2023). Network analysis of eating disorder symptoms in women in perimenopause and early postmenopause. Menopause, 30(3), 275-282. https://doi.org/10.1097/GME.0000000000002141
Vetter, C., & Bermindham, K. (2024). Menopause weight gain and why you should stop dieting. Zoe. https://zoe.com/learn/menopause-weight-gain
