Menopause is the time when women tend to develop menopause abdominal fat. Fat has accrued over other parts of the body during most of a woman's life, but during menopause, abdominal fat settles in the midsection. Even women without weight problems in the past are likely to have some extra menopause abdominal fat as they go through "the change."

Since lean muscle mass decreases during menopause, body fat increases, thus shifting the body's composition significantly. Rather than accumulating in the usual places, like the hips, arms or legs, menopause abdominal fat finds its way to the stomach region.

Changing hormone levels in a woman's body are blamed for this shifting of body composition. The male hormone, androgen, (present in females to a lesser extent), does a delicate balancing act with the natural amount of estrogen in a woman's body. The ratios change as estrogen begins to taper off, creating all sorts of complications for the woman going through menopause. It is this change that is linked to the occurrence of menopause abdominal fat.

Visceral fat is the menopause abdominal fat that sets behind the abdominal muscle wall and surrounds the organs of the body. The fat you can hold when you grab the fleshy parts of your body is called subcutaneous fat and stays just below the surface of the skin. These are two very different kinds of fat. Visceral fat is far more dangerous to the health, leading to cardiovascular problems, and type 2 diabetes, among other things.

Ridding the body of visceral fat is very important and-good news-it is actually easier to get rid of than subcutaneous fat! Visceral fat reacts well to exercise and diet measures, melting away more easily and readily than subcutaneous fat. Researchers have discovered that women who exercise infrequently or not at all tend to have at least a 9% menopause abdominal fat gain, while women who exercise regularly experience little to no gain, and even lose visceral fat, depending on frequency and extent of exertion applied.

Subcutaneous fat is harder to lose and because of that, women may not think their efforts are working. But this thinking is incorrect. Ridding the body of visceral fat will, in the long run, improve health and fitness and prevent the unwanted diseases that tend to come with age.

How To Lose Menopause Abdominal Fat

1) 30-minute sessions of cardiovascular exercises like swimming, walking, yoga, bicycling and/or other such exercises should be done at least 3 times a week. Resistance training is also recommended.

2) Keep a watchful eye on what you eat. Dieting, in the traditional sense, is not a good idea, since the body will go into "starvation mode" and slow the metabolism down, thus defeating the purpose. Instead, pick healthier foods. Restrict refined sugars, white flour and drink lots of water.

Many of the natural foods you can eat will contain phytoestrogens, as well, which will help ease many of the nasty side effects of menopause.