Dr. Mary Claire Haver

And you take age out of the equation because remember, women go through menopause at different ages.

So if you match them to their menopausal status and not their age, we see a pattern forming.

Somewhere between 8% to 10% of a woman's total body fat is intra-abdominal.

in a premenopausal woman, okay?

However, you take her through the menopause transition and that can increase 18, I've seen as high as 30%.

So I like to like round it off at about somewhere in the 23, 24% range.

So you can basically double to triple the amount of visceral fat that you have simply by going through menopause.

No other reason, okay?

But there's several factors leading to that.

Inflammation levels are getting higher.

Insulin resistance is increasing.

That makes your blood sugar level stay up higher longer, which also increases inflammation.

And you're losing the protection of estrogen, which in itself is an anti-inflammatory hormone.

And all of those things are driving more and more fat to the abdomen.

Also, we're seeing sleep disruption.

Women who don't sleep, who are having trouble falling asleep or staying asleep, who aren't getting the good quality sleep, have higher levels of visceral fat, which is leading to more inflammation, right?

Which is leading to also changes in their diet.

You crave more things that are unhealthy, like simple carbohydrates when you don't sleep, right?

You're tired, you're exhausted.

You start reaching for comfort food.