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What hormones cause a woman's weight to increase?
Last reviewed: 04.07.2025
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Age-related disorders in the body and hormones
There are several age-related syndromes that endocrinologists classify as causes of excess weight. Here they are:
- PMS (so-called premenstrual syndrome)
- Depression
- Chronic fatigue
- fibromyalgia syndrome
- polycystic ovary syndrome
These conditions affect the hormonal balance, disrupting it, and thus preventing us from controlling and maintaining our weight. Moreover, with age, these conditions only worsen, which means their consequences are increasingly more difficult for a woman.
This is why it is important to see your doctor from time to time to have your hormone levels tested.
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Let's clarify some terms
This is necessary so that a woman understands what hormonal processes are taking place in her body at a particular period of life.
What is perimenopause?
This is a period of time during which a woman cannot complain of irregular periods and poor health of the body as a whole. The hormonal balance at this time is within normal limits.
What is perimenopause?
This is the time when women's levels of progesterone and estradiol hormones decrease. She complains of periods that sometimes come and sometimes don't. In addition, the amount of discharge changes each time, driving the woman hysterical.
What is premenstrual syndrome (PMS)?
This is the time between ovulation and menstruation. During this time, a woman's mood can change dramatically - from sudden irritability and aggression to icy calm and apathy. The menstrual cycle continues, the ovaries work and produce sex hormones.
What is menopause?
This is a period in a woman's life when her periods stop. The ovaries slow down and then stop functioning altogether.
Doctors call menopause a period of time when there is no menstruation for a year. Menopause can be natural (due to age-related changes) or surgical (when the uterus is removed).
What is postmenopause?
This is a temporary period that occurs after the final cessation of menstruation. Sex hormones also cease to be produced.
How does perimenopause affect weight gain?
When a woman's periods finally stop and menopause begins, the level of sex hormones drops significantly.
It is worth noting that not all women can gain excess weight at this time. But most become victims of increased appetite and increased fat deposits. According to statistics, there are more than 80% of such women. They begin to gain weight primarily in the waist and abdomen.
Unpleasant "gifts" in addition to weight gain are insomnia, absent-mindedness and attention, decreased attraction to men, unmotivated aggression, mood swings up to complete apathy to life. The nervous and immune systems may also be upset, which threatens frequent allergies, which were previously unheard of.
Heart and vascular dysfunction can also be the cause of hormonal imbalance during menopause. This can result in unexpected obesity.
Deficiency of sex hormones and its consequences
In the period of 45-50, a woman may already experience menopause. But at this age, she is still socially active: a woman works, takes care of her family, and does all the housework. This active work is superimposed on her physical condition, which can significantly worsen. But there is no time to take care of herself and go to the doctor, and the woman does not consider it necessary.
The price for not paying attention to yourself is high: the level of the stress hormone cortisol increases, the amount of sex hormones decreases because the ovaries are no longer as active. A woman risks developing diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, pressure surges and brittle bones. Nails, hair and skin do not look their best as a result of hormonal imbalance.
All this further inhibits the work of the ovaries and their production of sex hormones. As a result, there is a significant increase in weight, especially against the background of little physical activity.
To avoid these problems, you need to see an endocrinologist to check your hormonal levels. Then you will be able to control the lack or excess of hormones. As a result, you will optimize your weight and improve your well-being.