As if we didn't know this -- mother nature either wants us to be fat or to
starve!
"Advice to all women searching for the best way to lose
weight..."
In their search for the best way to lose weight, many women don't
realize that during the menopause, changes in fat metabolism mean
that they're more likely to store — and less likely to get rid of
— body fat.
You'll often hear many experts extol the virtues of a "balanced"
diet (whatever that means). One expert tells you that the best
way to lose weight is to cut calories. Then somebody else tells
you that calories don't count. With the mass of dieting
information currently available, it's no wonder that virtually
everyone is confused about the best way to lose weight.
However, a research team from the University of Maryland in
Baltimore has shown that your age has a massive influence on your
ability to lose weight — no matter what you eat!
Publishing their findings in the Journal of Clinical
Endocrinology and Metabolism, the researchers extracted fat
tissue from the abdomen and buttocks of 24 women. They found an
enzyme that promotes fat storage, (known as adipose tissue
lipoprotein lipase), was more than twice as active in
postmenopausal compared with perimenopausal women.
What's more, the rate at which stored fat is broken down in
postmenopausal women was also dramatically reduced compared with
perimenopausal women. Interestingly, stopping smoking has a very
similar effect. In fact, after you stop smoking for just four
weeks, studies show that the activity of lipoprotein lipase (one
of the enzymes that promotes fat storage) is more than doubled.
This doesn't mean that getting older is a guarantee that you'll
gain weight. The best way to lose weight remains an effective
program of diet and exercise, no matter how old you are. Still,
women who find it difficult to lose weight as they get older
might be happy to know that it isn't entirely their fault!
Reference
Ferrara, C.M., Lynch, N.A., Nicklas, B.J., Ryan, A.S., & Berman,
D.M. (2002). Differences in adipose tissue metabolism between
postmenopausal and perimenopausal women. Journal of Clinical
Endocrinology and Metabolism, 87, 4166-4170
To view this update on-line, visit:
http://thefactsaboutfitness.com/research/mp.shtml
Namaste, Liz
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