It’s especially important to look after yourself around the time of menopause. Healthy lifestyle choices will help to improve physical and emotional symptoms.
Benefits of a healthy weight at menopause
Benefits of a healthy diet at menopause
How alcohol and smoking can impact you at menopause
Benefits of physical activity at menopause
How to improve your sleep at menopause
How to look after your bone health at menopause
How to look after your mental health at menopause
How to improve your body image at menopause
What you can do about low libido at menopause
How does menopause affect fertility?
Weight gain and increased abdominal (belly) fat is common among women at midlife. Many people think weight gain is part of menopause, but it’s more likely due to ageing and lifestyle changes.
Women tend to gain weight as they age, whether they are experiencing menopause or not. On average, women between the ages of 45 and 55 gain about half a kilogram per year.
It’s not healthy to carry too much weight. Weight around your stomach (visceral fat) can increase your risk of developing health conditions, such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes and cancer. It can also increase menopausal symptoms such as hot flushes and joint aches.
A review published by the Mayo Clinic shows women can prevent weight gain at midlife by having a healthy lifestyle and managing menopausal symptoms.
Menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) may also help to reduce belly fat after menopause, but MHT shouldn’t be prescribed for weight management alone.
Download our fact sheet on Menopause and weight
A healthy diet can help prevent weight gain during midlife. Making healthy food choices is one of the best ways to stay within a healthy weight range.
A healthy diet will improve your energy levels and help you manage your weight and some menopausal symptoms.
Learn more about why good nutrition is important, including tips for eating healthy eating.
If you are overweight and want help to lose weight, talk to your doctor, dietitian or a nutritionist.
Find delicious and nutritious recipe ideas.
Listen to this podcast featuring Sandra Villella, naturopath at Jean Hailes Clinics, talking about menopause and nutrition.
Read this article about 5 dietary tweaks for women over 50.
If you drink too much alcohol, it can cause weight gain, disrupt your sleep and trigger hot flushes and night sweats.
In the long term, heavy drinking can also lead to an increased risk for developing depression, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and some cancers.
Learn more about the Australian alcohol guidelines and ways to minimise alcohol harm.
Smoking can cause more severe and frequent hot flushes and night sweats, which can disrupt sleep. Smoking and drug use can also increase your risk of developing serious health conditions.
For health advice about smoking, visit Quit.org.au. If you are concerned about your smoking or alcohol consumption, talk to your doctor.
Menopausal symptoms can make it harder to do physical activity, which may contribute to weight gain.
Physical activity is an important part of being healthy, especially as you age. It can reduce the risk of chronic disease, falls and osteoporosis. Staying active can also help you manage your weight and menopausal symptoms.
For women, the current recommendations for physical activity are to be active on most (preferably all) days of the week, and to avoid sitting for long periods of time.
Read the recommended guidelines for exercise.
Try some of these practical ideas:
There are many reasons why you may develop sleep problems around the time of menopause, for example, changing hormone levels and night sweats.
Poor sleep can make it hard to eat well, do regular physical activity and manage menopausal symptoms.
Learn more about how to improve your sleep.
After menopause, lower levels of oestrogen can affect your bone health, which may increase your risk of developing osteoporosis.
If you experience premature or early menopause, you may have a higher risk of developing osteoporosis earlier in life.
Learn about bone health after menopause.
In the lead-up to menopause, you may notice mood changes and other issues such as forgetfulness and brain fog. This may be due to hormone changes or life pressures or both.
There are many practical things you can do to look after your emotional wellbeing at this stage of life. For example:
If you are experiencing strong emotions, anxiety or depression, see your doctor.
Your body image is how you think and feel about your body, including your shape, weight and the way your body works.
An eating disorder is a serious, complex and potentially life-threatening mental health condition. It can change your behaviours and thoughts about food, eating, body weight and shape.
Negative body image and eating disorders can affect people at any age or life stage.
It’s important to be kind to yourself around the time of menopause, which usually happens at midlife.
At this life stage, the risk of negative body image and eating disorders can increase. But we need more research to better understand this.
Menopausal symptoms, such as sleep problems, mood changes and anxiety, can lead to negative body image, changes in eating habits and feelings of loss of control. These are all common factors in the development of eating disorders.
Negative body image can also impact your libido and relationships.
It’s estimated that almost one in 4 people with an eating disorder in Australia are aged between 40 and 59.
Learn more about issues that impact women’s relationships with their bodies on the Butterfly Foundation website.
There are many things you can do to improve your body image at menopause.
When it comes to being active, try to take the focus off losing weight and changing how your body looks. Instead, move your body in ways that bring you joy and help you to feel good. For example, walking with a friend or group activities.
Move away from dieting or following extreme food rules and restrictions. Enjoy your food – and think of it as fuel and nutrition to support your body. If you drink alcohol, try to reduce how much you drink, to protect your mental and physical health.
Many women feel shame about eating disorders in midlife. You may think it’s unusual to have these issues later in life, but it’s important to know that eating disorders can impact anyone, of any age, and that you can seek support no matter how old you are.
Talk to someone you trust about how you’re feeling, for example, your partner or a trusted friend. They might help you to think differently and be kinder to yourself. Sharing your experience can help you feel less alone.
Learn from other women who have experienced menopause and have a positive view about ageing.
You can get support and guidance and connect with others at a Butterfly support group.
It might also help to read women’s stories about navigating body image issues through different life stages on the Butterfly Foundation website.
If you’re struggling, reach out for help. Your doctor is a good place to start.
To find a doctor or health care professional with experience in managing eating disorders or body image issues, search the Butterfly Referral Database.
You can also:
Menopause and Eating Disorders is a free online course, created by Monash University with support from Eating Disorders Victoria. It offers a range of resources and support options.
Read a blog post by Jean Hailes endocrinologist Dr Yvonne Chow.
Sexuality is an important part of our human experience, but hormonal changes at menopause can lead to reduced sex drive (libido).
It’s common for some menopausal symptoms to affect your sex drive.
For example, hot flushes, lowered mood, sleeplessness, fatigue and dry vagina. This can be frustrating and may affect your relationships.
If you experience early or premature menopause, the sudden change in hormones and other challenges can affect your sex drive.
At midlife, your sex drive may be influenced by life’s pressures and responsibilities, such as caring for children and elderly parents while also working. You may also feel differently about your body at this age and might not want to be intimate as often as you used to.
If you’re in a relationship, it’s important to discuss your thoughts openly with your partner.
Your partner may not know about menopausal symptoms or what you’re going through. You can ask them to learn more about menopause so they can support you through this time.
If you are concerned about your sex drive, you can ask your doctor for treatment options or a referral to a psychologist who specialises in couples therapy.
In this video, Professor Sheryl Kingsberg, Clinical Psychologist, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center (USA), talks about how women can boost their libido.
This podcast features Professor Susan Davis, a leading researcher and endocrinologist at Jean Hailes Clinics, talking about low libido and testosterone therapy.
Your fertility will decline as you age, but while you still ovulate it is possible to get pregnant. In the lead-up to menopause, it’s possible to ovulate twice during one cycle. And you can still ovulate up to 3 months before your final period.
The possibility of pregnancy in women aged 45 to 49 is estimated to be 2% to 3% per year. After the age of 50, it’s less than 1%.
If you’re younger than 50 and you don’t want to fall pregnant, you should use contraception for at least 2 years after your final period.
If you’re 50 or older and you don’t want to fall pregnant, you should use contraception for at least one year after your final period. Note that MHT is not a contraceptive.
Talk to your doctor about the best contraception for you.
This content has been reviewed by a group of medical subject matter experts, in accordance with Jean Hailes policy.
© Jean Hailes Foundation. All rights reserved.
