Hi Dr. Gunter. I'm an ob/gyn and I read this paper too. I was taught that heavy women often have an easier menopause due to increased levels of circulating estrogen which comes from aromatase in their adipose tissues converting androgens to estrogen. This paper says the opposite. I think that's the first time I ever heard that losing wei…
Hi Dr. Gunter. I'm an ob/gyn and I read this paper too. I was taught that heavy women often have an easier menopause due to increased levels of circulating estrogen which comes from aromatase in their adipose tissues converting androgens to estrogen. This paper says the opposite. I think that's the first time I ever heard that losing weight helps HF. One of the risk factors for severe VMS is being thin.
Also, I might highlight that the super popular black cohosh had no benefit and can also cause rare liver damage. This is the worst case with many supplements. They don't work and some can cause potential serious harm!
The weight issue seems complicated, and I'm not sure it's completely sorted out. Higher adiposity is associated with fewer hot flashes after menopause, but in the perimenopause it may be associated with more. There is also data that suggests higher lean body mass is associated with fewer hot flashes. But for this position statement they were looking at studies that specifically addressed weight loss. The quality of evidence was lower, but some effect is apparently seen. This seems to be one of those areas that we don't know what we don't know.
Hi Dr. Gunter. I'm an ob/gyn and I read this paper too. I was taught that heavy women often have an easier menopause due to increased levels of circulating estrogen which comes from aromatase in their adipose tissues converting androgens to estrogen. This paper says the opposite. I think that's the first time I ever heard that losing weight helps HF. One of the risk factors for severe VMS is being thin.
Also, I might highlight that the super popular black cohosh had no benefit and can also cause rare liver damage. This is the worst case with many supplements. They don't work and some can cause potential serious harm!
The weight issue seems complicated, and I'm not sure it's completely sorted out. Higher adiposity is associated with fewer hot flashes after menopause, but in the perimenopause it may be associated with more. There is also data that suggests higher lean body mass is associated with fewer hot flashes. But for this position statement they were looking at studies that specifically addressed weight loss. The quality of evidence was lower, but some effect is apparently seen. This seems to be one of those areas that we don't know what we don't know.