Why does the belly grow in women, and what to do about it
The causes of the problem can be different. Determining your own is an important task that will help bring your figure back to normal.
Why does the belly increase?
A protruding belly is not always fat. The weakening of the abdominal muscles, caused by insufficient physical activity or their complete absence, leads to the prolapse of the internal organs. The skin is stretched under their pressure, the result is an enlarged belly. In addition to the fact that what is happening upsets women who want to have a slim figure and a toned tummy at any age, it also threatens with diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. After all, the prolapse of internal organs invariably leads to dysfunction of the stomach and intestines.
What to do? The way out here is very simple – increasing physical activity, exercising the abdominal press, and for the elderly – light jogging, wellness or Nordic walking. After childbirth, exercise therapy and special corsets will help.
Metabolism, like everything else in the human body, is regulated by the endocrine and nervous systems. A part of the brain called the hypothalamus is involved in regulation.
Scientists have found 2 sections in it:
ergotin which the rate of power generation is regulated;
trophic, in which the regulation of construction, restoration and accumulation processes is carried out.
If, for some reason, the tone rises ergot department, then a situation is created that can be briefly described as “not into a horse’s oats”, i.e. no matter how much a person eats, he remains thin. Conversely, if there is an increase in tone trophic department, there is an increase in the processes of accumulation and deposition, i.e. a person eats little, but noticeably gains weight.
If a woman’s fat deposits are concentrated mainly on the abdomen and buttocks (the so-called ears), there is a high probability that there is an endocrine metabolic disorder. Should check with endocrinologistto find out if this is so, or … look for other causes of a large belly.
Even from school, everyone knows that nothing comes out of nowhere and does not go anywhere: ate a bun with butter – waste energy. If you don’t spend it, you will lie down on the sofa – the accumulation will begin “just in case”. In such circumstances, a growing belly is just the beginning, further will steadily increase in the girth of the buttocks, thighs, back, arms, etc.
The way out of the situation is simple, and it consists in the well-known phrase “Movement is life”. You can only add: a full life with a good figure.
This reason for an increase in the abdomen in women, perhaps, is understandable even to people who are not very dedicated to the intricacies of the matter. If you eat some buns with butter and wash them down with hot chocolate, disorders in the body will occur, which can result in a fat belly and illness. If there is one cabbage, there will also be disturbances in the body, leading either to obesity, or to thinness and, definitely, to all kinds of diseases. This is how the body will react, and its reaction is different for all people.
A balanced diet is, in short, nutrition in which the body receives all the nutrients it needs in the correct proportions.
In the diet of a healthy person, subject to average physical activity, it is considered normal ratio of fats, proteins and carbohydrates, close to the expression 1:1:4,5… It is this ratio that maximally satisfies the energy and plastic needs of the human body.
With increased energy consumption and an increase in the caloric content of food in this regard, the percentage of protein should be reduced, and the percentage of fats and carbohydrates should be increased.
It is not so difficult to organize a balanced meal for yourself. You just need to make a personal diet, which will contain foods containing both fats, proteins, carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins, and microelements, etc. If it is difficult to do it yourself, you can always seek help from nutritionists.
In many women, the belly begins to enlarge with the onset of menopause. It is explainable. With menopause, the production of some hormones slows down or even stops. For example, in girls and young women, estrogens increase the concentration of a hormone in the blood called thyroxine, which is the main form of thyroid hormone in the thyroid gland, which is responsible for the metabolic rate. But as the amount of estrogen decreases with age, the activity of the thyroid gland gradually decreases. As a result, the metabolism due to its function is steadily decreasing. This is manifested in the fact that every day a woman spends less and less energy, but at the same time the level of food consumption and physical activity remains the same. Extra pounds appear.
Scientists state that 35% of menopausal women experience sweet taste changes and do not control the amount of sugar in their diet. And 45% deliberately eat a lot of sweets. There is a violation of carbohydrate metabolism, and it becomes possible to develop diabetes mellitus. As a result, weight increases, and first of all, the belly grows.
It is curious that the accumulation of fat is necessary for the aging female body, because with a decrease in the production of estrogen by the ovaries, this function begins to be performed by adipose tissue! And in this role, she is no longer just fat, but a kind of endocrine tumor on the body. This principle of the compensatory mechanism is very important for the health of women during menopause. At the same time, independent gross attempts to lose excess fat by strict diets or starvation can provoke a progression of the process and a further decrease in estrogen, which will invariably result in an exacerbation of climacteric symptoms (insomnia, fluctuations in body temperature, changes in skin condition, etc.). For older women wishing to normalize their weight, consultation with their attending physician or dietitian is required.
Good mood and optimism are the guarantors of a beautiful figure, but incessant stress and anxiety contribute to an increase in the abdomen. Some women lose weight during such periods, but there are not many. And even then, when the situation returns to normal, the kilograms return. During stress, the body begins to actively produce the hormone cortisol. Its excess leads to the deposition of fat in the abdomen and upper back. In addition, most women have a habit of “seizing” stress, especially with sweets.
Sleep deprivation as well as excess sleep can trigger weight gain and, in particular, an enlarged belly. Prolonged sleep (more than 10-12 hours) does not allow you to spend enough calories while you are awake. And short-term sleep (less than 4-5 hours) leads to excessive production of cortisol in the body, its excess introduces a person into a stressful state.
Expert Opinion
Fitness psychologist, fitness trainer
– Fat deposits in the waist area are called “cortisol tummy” by experts, since the main reason for its appearance is the stress hormone. In this case, it is important to bring the hormonal background back to normal. If the cortisol level is high, your doctor will suggest medication and diet. In acute cases, hormone therapy. But such drugs have many side effects and are prescribed only in extreme cases and in very limited doses. Some non-hormonal blocking drugs have the function of blocking cortisol. But their abuse can lead to hormonal imbalance in the body, which will be the impetus for the development of many concomitant diseases. Non-drug treatment of “cortisol” obesity is aimed at improving the overall function of the adrenal glands. If you change your eating habits, then you can significantly equalize the cortisol surges.
Elena Ivanova, Anna Gerasimenko