Mid-Age Does Not Have to Mean Weight Gain

Dr. Andrew Weil on Wellness and Happiness | |
A good diet and regular exercise are surefire practices to avoid cardiovascular disease in later life. | |
A University of Pittsburgh study finds weight gain does not have to accompany menopause. | |
The combination also keeps expanding waistlines in check. | |
Exercise and a low-fat, reduced-calorie diet can prevent weight gain during menopause, according to a University of Pittsburgh study.

The focus of the study, which tracked 535 women over four-and-a-half years, was the well-recognized connection between diet and exercise and better cardiovascular health.
On the weight-control front, the women who were dieting and exercising lost weight, on average, 0.18 pounds. The control group gained 5.2 pounds, which squares with the norm of about a pound a year of weight gain during midlife.
The inactive, non-dieting group measured no change around the waist, while the lifestyle intervention group actually lost an inch.
"This study proves that weight gain in middle age is preventable using a behavioral approach," said Laurey Simkin-Silverman, Ph.D., assistant professor of epidemiology and co-investigator on the study.
"Weight gain, especially if accompanied by an increase in waist circumference, has major implications for cardiovascular health. But through increased leisure-time physical activity and a low-fat, reduced calorie dietary pattern, women in this study have dramatic success in avoiding this middle-age weight gain."