According to the WHO, obesity is defined as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that presents a risk to health. 

Obesity UK highlights that it’s a complex health condition, with over 100 different factors that can contribute to weight gain and obesity. While many of us believe obesity is caused by factors entirely within our own control, this isn’t necessarily the case. Many of the factors are either partially, or completely, outside of our control. 

Unfortunately, there are lots of risks to being obese. 

These include many chronic and life-threatening conditions from high blood pressure and high levels of cholesterol; to Type 2 diabetes; excess fat on organs like the liver and heart; coronary heart disease and stroke; and some types of cancer such as breast cancer and bowel cancer. 

As if that wasn’t enough joy it can also affect your overall quality of life by causing other problems like difficulty doing physical activity; and joint or back pain. It can also lead to depression and low self-esteem. 

Jeez, I’m a bundle of laughs today, hey?!

In my pre-menopausal years, when I put weight on, the first places it went were my butt and then my boobs.  

But over the last few years, I’ve noticed that the weight has gone on round my middle, changing my body shape from a “pear” shape to more of an “apple” shape. Why is this?

A 2009 study that ran for 9 years identified that a drop in Oestrodial (a precursor to oestrogen) production potentially leads to Testosterone progressively dominating the hormonal landscape during the menopausal transition. 

This can lead to “Androgen Dominance” – meaning that the male sex hormones are stronger than your female hormones. 

No, you’re not turning into a bloke!

If we think about where men traditionally put on weight (that “wok smuggler look”), well, it’s not dissimilar to where menopausal women start to hold excess weight.

Alongside Androgen Dominance, there’s less of the protein made that makes both androgens and oestrogens more available for our bodies to use. 

This also becomes a factor in increasing the amount of fat stored around the middle of the body (“central adiposity”) AND around our internal organs.

These in turn mean that the health risks that up until this point of our lives were predominantly “male” health problems, become ours too.

OK, so you’re expecting me to get all over reducing calorie intake. Well, I'm not. Please let me introduce you to the “Oestrobolome”.

Say what, now? 

You’ve heard of your gut biome, right? 

Well, recent studies suggest that a collection of gut microbes known as the Oestrobolome have a role in processing oestrogens, affecting the levels that can circulate in your body. 

Microbes in the Oestrobolome produce an enzyme that separates Oestrogens into their active forms. 

This enables the active Oestrogen to bind to Oestrogen receptors and influence Oestrogen-dependent physiological processes (aka all the processes that have gone a bit wonky and are causing your menopausal symptoms).  

When the gut microbiome is healthy, the Oestrobolome produces just the right amount of this enzyme to maintain Oestrogen at the correct levels. 

When your gut’s not happy the enzyme’s activity may be altered, potentially creating a deficiency of Oestrogen. 

Or, said another way, it increases the likelihood of Androgen dominance.

So, what should you eat to keep your gut biome (and Oestrobolome) happy? 

Around thirty different types of plant-based foods every week! 

This can include vegetables; pulses; beans; lentils; and plant-based fibre; as well as fermented foods (e.g.  kefir, sauerkraut, live yoghurt). 

And what are the things that make your gut unhappy? 

Ultra-processed foods, particularly those that are made from soy, corn or wheat with added fats.

 I am not talking about creating calorie deficit here. If you read this blog, you’ll remember that exercise alone is poorly correlated with weight loss.

Exercise is, on the other hand, strongly correlated with reducing the risks of all the other chronic, life-threatening health risks that we talked about at the beginning of this blog. 

And in the case of maintaining weight loss and regulating energy metabolism, the inclusion of physical activity is crucial.

We should all be aiming for 150 minutes of moderate, or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise every week. 

If you’re largely sedentary incorporating small changes in your daily routine (e.g.  taking the stairs instead of the lift; park a bit further from the entrance to the shops; go for regular walks in your neighbourhood) can increase your NEAT!