Search results for midsection bulge

Fat…to boldly go where where none has gone before

Posted by Liz on Jun 28, 2010 in herbal medicine, weight gain | 2 comments

That body tire around the middle that tends to plague most women in their late forties and fifties and into old age reminds me of Star Trek – boldly going where no fat has ever gone before. Despite an hour at the gym daily, eating healthy and moderate (okay sometimes more than moderate) intake of alcohol, I still can’t seem to conquer that bulge that’s creeping into my midsection. I’ve spoken to trainers and nutritionists about it and have even tried conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), which theoretically helps reduce deposits of body fat. And still, fluctuating hormones and aging seem determined to redistribute that midsection bulge in ways that remain unacceptable (at least, to me). More importantly, however, is the fact that fat that settles in the abdominal areas increases the risk for impaired blood fat and insulin levels that can lead to diabetes and heart disease.

I’ve written about weight and the middle-aged bulge several times in the past and you can find some of these posts here. My friend Mollie Katzen and I collaborated on a post earlier this year about eating habits, food and midlife. And still, an effective solution to the bold bulge continues to elude women, trainers and researchers alike.

Still, a very small study published in the online edition of Menopause shows that hope may still spring eternal. In fact, results suggests that women who took 70 mg isoflavones daily (i.e. 44 mg daidzein, 16 mg glycitein, 10 mg genistein) for six months and then added at least an hour of intensive aerobics, circuit training and resistance training at least three times weekly for another six months experienced significant declines in blood pressure, fat mass and total body weight, and a small reduction in waist circumference (of about an inch and a half). In this particular study, the researchers selected women who were known to respond physically and beneficially to exercise. However, only the women who supplemented their exercise with isoflavones had demonstrable improvements in their fat mass and distribution. These women also experienced improvements in their insulin levels.

Clearly, the benefits of isoflavones added to exercise from both a weight and health perspective need to be explored more thoroughly and with larger numbers of women. However, it is possible that the addition of soy to a regular exercise routine may help to address that elusive bulge from entering the black hole that we call midlife.

Stay tuned!

Wednesday Bubble: stress, abdominal fat and exercise

Posted by Liz on Mar 2, 2011 in exercise | 4 comments

This is a day to neither burst nor unburst bubbles, but rather, explore an interesting set of hypotheses that ran across my desk:

Stress boosts that unsightly bulge around our midsection as we age. And, high intensity, intermittent exercise might eliminate some of it.

It’s hard to stay away from the the battle of the middle age bulge. It’s there every time many of us look in the mirror. And as I’ve written time and again; in women, the accumulation of abdominal fat is the perfect storm, multifactorial in cause and affecting a majority despite diet and physical activity. The culprits? Experts believe that it may be related to changes in ovarian function, hormone and just generally aging. To add insult to injury, as estrogen production declines, the body starts to rely on secondary production sites, such as body fat and skin. Thus, fatty tissue starts function like an endocrine organ instead of simply a passive vessel for energy storage. The body also struggles to hold onto bone mass and may compensate for its loss by holding on to extra body fat longer.

Now it seems that there’s another culprit at play: stress.

Cortisol is a hormone that is secreted by the adrenal glands. Its primary role in the body is to regulate energy (by producing blood sugar or metabolizing carbohydrates, protein and fats) and mobilize it areas in the body where is it most needed; consequently, cortisol levels tend to peak in the early morning and then gradually decline throughout the day. Cortisol is also produced in reaction to prolonged periods of stress, during which time it produces protein that the body can convert to energy. However, it also increases the creation of fat that may be deposited in fat cells residing deeply in the abdominal area.

Aging is believed to create further imbalances and an increase in cortisol levels, especially at night.  Recent data have also shown that overall, women have higher cortisol levels than men, and that certain women, especially those with greater amounts of abdominal fat, may be reacting to a large disruption in release of cortisol that causes a greater than normal difference between morning and evening levels of the hormone. This disruption is believed to be related, at least in part, to exposure to prolonged physical and mental stress.

If you are anything like me, your adrenals are working overtime and stress is pretty much a given part of your life. And, those abdominal fat deposits that were for most of your life, kept at bay, are starting to show up in the most inopportune places.

Now for the good news:

According to a recent review in the Journal of Obesity, there is accumulating evidence that high-intensity, intermittent exercise ( e.g. 8 seconds of high intensity cycling to significantly boost aerobic capacity followed by 12 seconds of low intensity, over a 20 minute period) performed at least three times a week may effectively reduce abdominal fat and even fat that lies just below the skin. The most important thing is consistency; although most studies have only evaluated these type of exercise regimens for short time periods, it appears that better results are associated with regular programs that last at least 3 months or more, especially among people who have larger amounts abdominal fat. Less certain, however, is the role that age may play, and if imbalances in cortisol levels due to prolonged stress influence how well intermittent, high intensity activity impacts fat deposits.

Not only have I upped the ante in terms of how long I exercise daily (i.e. 6o minutes) but I have started to pay more attention to how I’m working out in terms of intensity levels. Next up is the addition of intermittent high intensity intervals. Regardless of whether it’s cycling, elliptical or running, I’m hopeful that I can combat some of the bulge that’s creeping up. If anything, my heart is going to thank me!

What about you? In addition to watching what goes into your mouth, what are you doing to combat stress and that rotunda around your midsection?

WISHFIT: women’s research takes a village.

Posted by Liz on Mar 19, 2010 in exercise, heart disease, menopause, weight gain | 3 comments

I was heartened to read that the folks at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago have partnered with a community of local women to fight obesity and promote a healthier menopausal transition. What’s especially novel about this program, which is called WISHFIT (Women in Southside Health FIT), is that during the first year of the five-year study, it will be relying on “pioneers” for guidance in designing and testing the program and subsequently spreading the word. One of the program’s primary researchers, Dr. Sheila Dugan, who is an Associate Professor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Rush University Medical School, characterizes the approach as “community-based participatory medicine,” with a critical grassroots component. I would go one step further and call it a health 2.0, social media approach to medical research.

The goals of WISHFIT are to ultimately change the behavior of women who are sedentary or engage in physical activity only occasionally in order to help reduce the fat rolls around the midsection (called visceral fat). If you’ve been reading Flashfree for awhile, you will recall that visceral fat is a common problem in menopausal women that is likely related to fluctuating hormone levels as we age. Not only is it unattractive, but the development of fat around the midsection is dangerous because it has been linked with metabolic syndrome, a variety of symptoms that in concordance, increase the risk for heart disease.

Importantly, the National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute, National Institute of Diabetes, Digestion and Kidney Diseases are joining forces with Rush to take the study out of the laboratory setting and into the community. In fact, Dr. Dugan explains that research has shown that “there are millions of studies out there that show if we bring women into the University and have them exercise, they will lose weight and improve their fat composition. But when they are left to their own devices, they go back to themselves.”  She says that by having a community of postmenopausal women involved in developing a ‘tool kit’ of physical and stress-reducing activities or activities that help them to embrace healthier eating habits, the researchers are hoping that they can help their premenopausal peers incorporate new ways of thinking and acting so that they can get through menopause in healthier ways. She also points to data showing that change is better maintained not only by motivating the individual but also through the support of friends and social networks, which are needed for change to last.

Dr. Dugan notes that two Southside Chicago communities- Beverly and Morgan Park – have been the subject of prior research (Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation or SWAN) that identified the link between hormonal changes and visceral fat. In fact, some of the data also firmly established the link between markers of chronic disease and stress and sedentary lifestyles. The 30 Pioneers selected to lead the project will be women who participated in SWAN.

The five-year program also includes two studies examining 1) how social networks play a role in influencing health behaviors, and 2) if positive reinforcement works as well as financial incentives in getting women to change their lifestyle and become more physically active. An additional component entails before and after ‘person on the street’ interviews to educate and engage the community about what happens during menopause, heart disease and other risks and steps that can be taken to combat it.

“Midlife women already have all sorts of concerns on their minds. They need to have support around allowing themselves to take care of themselves and give themselves the freedom to actually step out of all their roles to do so. Our goal,” she emphasizes,”is to bring energy — spiritual and financial — to the community because we truly believe that the only way that these women will have a chance to take care of themselves is by everyone around them buying into how important it is.”

Noting that they are taking a three-pronged attack that entails community, social and individual level interventions, Dr. Dugan adds that community and social support are the links that have been missing in obesity research in particular.  I’d like to believe that these links have also been missing in gender research that focuses on women; in fact, perhaps this model isthe breakthrough  that is needed to change some gender inequities in our healthcare.

It really does take a village, doesn’t it? Only time will tell.