Closer to 45 years, all women gradually decrease the production of sex hormones. This process is called menopause, which leads to a complete cessation of reproduction – menopause.
During this period, serious changes occur, the hormones estrogen and progesterone are synthesized less and less. These hormones are very important for women’s health: they are responsible for the maturation of eggs, the condition of the uterus, skin elasticity and metabolic processes in the body.
Estrogens make tissues more sensitive to insulin, which is responsible for processing sugars. If there is not enough estrogen, cells stop metabolizing sugar normally and blood glucose levels rise. This is a dangerous condition, so the body seeks to remove sugar in any way, urgently processing it into fats.
Leptin is a hormone produced by adipose tissue. It controls appetite and satiety. The level of leptin depends on estrogens, and if the latter is low, the concentration of leptin also decreases. This provokes hunger, despite the fact that objectively there are still enough energy reserves. Because of this, a woman eats more and unconsciously chooses high-calorie junk food.
It is because of metabolic disorders in menopause that obesity often begins, even if the woman was not previously inclined to this. The balance between calories received and consumed is disturbed, and the excess is deposited in fat stores. Especially dangerous is the deposition of fat in the abdomen – the so-called visceral obesity. Fat builds up in the abdominal cavity around the organs and disrupts their function. Excess visceral fat provokes the development of diabetes mellitus.