Tackling Middle Aged Spread, Belly Fat

Honestly, I always thought "middle-aged spread" was a term my mom made up. After I turned forty, though, I realized that the middle was spreading even though little else about my life had changed. I mean, I'd given birth to two gorgeous daughters and I could blame the waistline pudge on them, just like I do my gray hairs and flabby thighs.

But once the pregnancy weight was gone, the belly was still there. I had to become an expert on below-the-waist pants, and belly-skimming tops. I've even considered a body-shaper, which is something that my mom used to call a girdle; the intent is the same, to suck in that expanding waistline with sturdy spandex.

It turns out I'm not alone. More Americans have soft, pudgy bellies than they did 20 years ago. Typically, women carry excess fat in their hips and thighs, while men carry their excess fat in the belly. But as a woman grows older, and especially as she enters menopause, her weight starts settling in the middle, at the same time, arms, hips and thighs typically lose bulk. Hence, the term "middle-aged spread."

And this spreading middle is not just unsightly, or unattractive, or something to make you go crazy in the fitting room. Abdominal fat is the primary suspect in causing metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome sets off a cluster of conditions that include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, and other dangerous heart attack risk factors.

What I found is that losing the middle-aged spread isn't as easy as doing 100 crunches every day (like that's easy, right?); or using Splenda or another sweetener in place of sugar; and maybe using olive oil instead of other fats. Losing fat in the tummy is especially not easy when you are a woman, and over 40. Biology seems to be against us.

Heredity and hormonal changes are credited with the increase of the belly in the older woman. Your metabolism slows down as you age, and the amount of fat in your body slowly increases. The increase in body fat is higher in women, too, than in men. Then after menopause, that fat shifts from the arms, legs, and hips to the midsection.