Why Do Women Gain Belly Fat in Midlife?
为什么中年女性容易有小肚子？

Q: I’m a woman in my late 40s and for the first time I’ve developed belly fat. Is there any way to target it through diet or exercise?

问：我是一名将近50岁的女性，第一次出现腹部脂肪。有没有办法通过节食或锻炼来消除它呢？

If you’re a middle-aged woman and you’re noticing that your midsection is expanding, the first thing to know is that you’re not alone.

如果你是一位中年女性，你注意到自己的腹部越来越大，首先要知道的是，你的情况并不罕见。
 


“This is a physiological change that, unfortunately, really happens to virtually all women as we age,” said Victoria Vieira-Potter, an associate professor of nutrition and exercise physiology at the University of Missouri. “It’s not something you did,” she added, or an indication that you’re letting yourself go, so to speak.

“不幸的是，这是一种生理变化，随着年龄增长，几乎所有女性都会发生这种变化，”密苏里大学营养和运动生理学副教授维多利亚·维埃拉-波特说。“这不是你的错，”她还说，这也不代表你在放任自己。

In the years leading up to menopause, Dr. Vieira-Potter said, levels of hormones like estrogen shift. And research suggests that these shifts likely lead to changes in body shape, she said — along with hot flashes, mood changes, irregular periods, trouble sleeping and more. This perimenopausal transition, which typically begins between 45 and 55 and lasts for about 7 years, officially ends one year after the last period. At that point, women are said to be in menopause.

维埃拉-波特说，在更年期之前的几年里，雌激素等激素的水平会发生变化。她说，研究表明，这些变化可能会导致体型变化，以及潮热、情绪变化、月经不调、睡眠问题等。这种更年期过渡通常开始于45岁至55岁之间，持续约七年，在最后一次月经后一年正式结束。这个时期的女性被认为进入了更年期。

Before the menopausal transition, women tend to store more of their body fat in the thighs and hips, resulting in a “pear-shaped” body, Dr. Vieira-Potter explained, while men tend to store more fat in the abdominal area, making them more “apple-shaped.”

维埃拉-波特解释说，在更年期之前，女性倾向于将更多脂肪储存在大腿和臀部，形成“梨型”身材，而男性则倾向于将更多脂肪储存在腹部，更像“苹果型”身材。

But around menopause, there’s a striking change in where women store fat on their bodies, said Dr. Gail Greendale, a professor of medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles. In one 2021 study, for instance, Dr. Greendale and her colleagues tracked how the bodies of 380 middle-aged women in Boston and Los Angeles changed over 12 years, including the time before, during and after their transitions to menopause. While the results varied according to race and ethnicity, the overall outcome was that around menopause, the women started storing fat more like men — less around the thighs and hips and more around their midsections.

但加州大学洛杉矶分校大卫格芬医学院的医学教授盖尔·格林德尔博士说，在更年期前后，女性体内储存脂肪的部位发生了显著变化。例如，在2021年的一项研究中，格林德尔和同事追踪了波士顿和洛杉矶380名中年女性在12年里身体的变化，包括她们进入更年期之前、期间和之后的变化。虽然研究结果因种族和民族而异，但总的结果是，在更年期前后，女性开始像男性一样囤积脂肪——大腿和臀部脂肪减少，腹部脂肪增多。

For example, among the white and Black women in the study, there was no net change in their hip and thigh fat over the 12 years, but their midsection fat increased, on average, by 24 and 17 percent, respectively. They gained midsection fat most quickly during the few years before and one year after their final period.

例如，参与这项研究的白人和黑人女性的臀部和大腿脂肪在12年里没有净变化，但她们的腹部脂肪平均分别增加了24%和17%。在经期结束前的几年和结束后的一年里，她们的腹部脂肪增长最快。

In other words, Dr. Vieira-Potter said, women “start to adopt that apple shape instead of the pear shape.”

维埃拉-波特博士说，换句话说就是女性的身材“开始变成苹果型，而不是梨型”。

It’s also common for men to gain more fat in their midsections as they age, but it is a slower and steadier change. “There’s no analogous thing in men where an organ just goes ‘Later!’ and shuts down,” Dr. Greendale said, referring to women’s ovaries during menopause.

随着年龄的增长，男性腹部脂肪出现增加也很常见，但这是一个缓慢而稳定的变化。“男性身上没有类似的情况——一个器官说：‘等一下！’然后就停止了。”格林德尔说，她这里指的器官是更年期女性的卵巢。

According to Dr. Greendale, researchers don’t know exactly why these shifts in fat storage occur. But while normal, they are something to keep an eye on, she added. Increases in belly fat — and in particular, the type of visceral fat that sits deep inside the abdomen and surrounds the organs — have been linked to certain increased health risks, like of heart disease, diabetes and cancer. This fat, which can expand not only with menopause, but with stress, lack of exercise, poor diet and more, is the “troublemaker fat,” Dr. Greendale said. On the other hand, fat stored in the thighs and hips, creating the so-called pear shape, seems to protect against diabetes and heart disease.

格林德尔说，研究人员并不清楚脂肪储存究竟为什么发生转变。不过她说，尽管是正常现象，还是有一些问题需要留意。腹部脂肪的增加——尤其是深藏于腹内和周围器官中的那类内脏脂肪——与一些医疗风险的增加存在关联，比如心脏病、糖尿病和癌症。格林德尔说，这种脂肪不仅会在更年期增长，还会随压力、缺少锻炼和不良饮食等问题增长，是“制造麻烦的脂肪”。而另一方面，储存在大腿和髋部的这种制造梨形身材的脂肪似乎可以预防糖尿病和心脏病。

Despite the ubiquitous internet ads claiming to hold the secret to shrinking belly fat, experts really don’t know how to address the waistline expansion associated with menopause, Dr. Greendale said. Researchers are only just beginning to understand how and why the body changes in this life stage, and she’s careful not to promote a solution without evidence that it works.

虽然网上到处都是声称掌握了腹部减脂秘诀的广告，格林德尔说，专家并不知道如何处理伴随更年期产生的腰围增长。研究人员才刚刚开始了解人体在这一阶段发生何种变化、为何变化，她不愿意过多提及那些有效性缺乏验证的解决方案。

“What worries me is that women who are trying to do right by themselves and keep up their exercise habits and eat a good diet may feel defeated” if their belly fat doesn’t budge, she said. “They may be doing everything they can, and their central fat may just have a mind of its own.” Excessive dieting and exercising too much can also be harmful, she pointed out.

如果腹部脂肪仍然顽固地存在着，“让我担心的是，一些努力想要照顾好自己，坚持锻炼和良好饮食的女性，会感到受打击，”她说。“她们可能已经竭尽全力了，而她们的腰部脂肪就是无动于衷。”她还指出，过度的节食和锻炼可能是有害的。

That said, getting at least 2.5 to 5 hours of moderate physical activity per week has been shown to help prevent heart disease and diabetes, both conditions associated with increased abdominal fat. Following a healthy diet — including one that incorporates plenty of fruits, vegetables and whole grains, and that prioritizes fish, legumes, nuts, low-fat dairy and lean meats as sources of protein — can help protect against these conditions, too.

话虽如此，研究表明每周保持至少2.5到5小时的中度身体锻炼有助于预防心脏病和糖尿病，两者都与腹部脂肪增加有关。保持健康膳食习惯——包括加入大量的水果、蔬菜和全粒谷物，以鱼类、豆类、坚果、低脂奶和瘦肉作为首要蛋白质来源——也有助于预防此类问题。

Physical activity also helps to maintain healthy muscle and bone mass and improves insulin functioning, Dr. Vieira-Potter said. “Even if you’re exercising and not losing weight, you’re doing lots of good metabolically.” Exercise feels good, too, and might help counter some of the mood changes that can come with menopause.

维埃拉-波特说，锻炼还有助于保持健康的肌肉和骨骼质量，促进胰岛素机能。“即使你锻炼了但并没有减重，在新陈代谢方面仍是很有好处的。”锻炼还能让你感觉良好，可能有助于缓解更年期带来的一些情绪波动。

It doesn’t need to be intense or strenuous to be beneficial, Dr. Vieira-Potter said. “Just find something you love.”

锻炼不需要很剧烈或辛苦，一样能产生益处，维埃拉-波特说。“你只需要找一个你爱做的项目。”

And, if you’re still feeling discouraged by your changing body, despite a good diet and exercise program, Dr. Greendale recommended a dose of self compassion. “If my middle is resistant, I’m going to understand that may be part of the life stage I’m in.”

如果体型在良好膳食和锻炼的情况下仍然发生改变这一点让你感到气馁，格林德尔建议加入一些自我同情。“如果我的腰就是不肯减下去，那我得明白，可能在这个阶段就是这样了。”

来源：好英语网