Lose Your Belly Fat: How Aging Makes It Harder For Women To Lose That Belly Fat

Whether it’s hormonal changes, hereditary or age-related weight gain, there are many women who notice an increase in belly fat as they age. This is especially true after menopause.

As you age and your metabolism slows, the amount of fat on your body slowly increases. To make matters worse, as they age, women experience a greater increase in overall body fat percentage than men.

It is the fat that you cannot see that is of great concern. Visceral fat lies deep in the abdominal cavity and surrounds the major organs. This type of fat has been linked to cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

Too much abdominal fat increases the risk of heart disease, breast cancer, high blood pressure, and colorectal cancer. Also, some fat cells produce hormones that can cause diabetes.

How to measure your center:

Wrap a tape measure around your abdomen around your belly button. Don’t squeeze your tummy, just breathe normally. For women, a waist of 35 inches or more indicates an unhealthy amount of belly fat.

Since visceral fat is located deep in your abdomen, it is sometimes difficult to reduce. This type of fat responds well to regular exercise and a healthy diet.

Daily medium intensity exercise is the best way to lose that stubborn belly fat. Strength training with weights is an effective way to increase your metabolism and prevent loss of muscle mass due to dieting. Making a conscious effort to eliminate unhealthy eating habits can also go a long way.

Hormone therapy is also considered an option, as recent studies have shown that postmenopausal women who undergo hormone replacement therapy are less susceptible to accumulating abdominal fat. Other studies showed no difference compared to women who had not received treatment.