Prevailing Reasons of Obesity in Older Women

Obesity is a serious health concern all over the world. According to the latest survey reports, more than 150 million US citizens are afflicted by acute obesity.

While both genders suffer from the evils of obesity, women have slightly higher levels of obesity than men.

Before we move on to the prevailing reasons for obesity in women, let us clarify that this article is meant for spreading awareness regarding the implications of obesity on our health. We do not support the societal taboos surrounding obesity, especially in women, and we condemn all form of body shaming.

Slow Rate of Metabolism

Regardless of age and gender, a slow metabolism is one of the main reasons behind obesity. When women go through menopause, their metabolism becomes slower than that of men of the same age. Slow metabolism, burns calories at a lower rate and results in weight gain. Slow metabolism contributes to obesity even when someone watches their diet.

High-Stress Level

Extreme stress is something that directly affects eating habits, and in turn, it affects weight. Most women in their adulthood begin to feel the toll of the responsibilities on them and become more vulnerable to stress.
In addition to affecting our eating habits, our body’s coping mechanism reacts to stress and releases cortisol hormone, which impacts our body’s natural capability to lose weight.

Hormonal Imbalances

One of the prevailing reasons of obesity in women is hormonal imbalances. Women between the ages of 40 to 48 go through the pre-menopause phase, and the production of estrogen is reduced. As a result, the body ends up retaining weight, more than it used to before which leads to obesity.

Reduction in Muscle Mass

It’s not common knowledge, but a body with more muscle mass has a better rate of metabolism and keeps the weight gain at bay.

However, a natural process of aging in women includes loss of muscle mass; as a result, more it slows down the metabolic rate and contributes to weight gain. While men around the same age also lose their muscle mass, women lose it more rapidly.

Our health is our most important possessions. It’s impertinent that we take out time from our busy schedule and get ourselves checked for obesity issues. You can even call for home care if there’s an elderly, sick, or injured person in the house for maintaining their healthy diet.