Obesity in women: Adolescence, post-marriage, pregnancy, and menopause

Another important problem during adolescence is anorexia nervosa caused by excessive dieting.

Maintaining a slim and slender figure through weight loss to meet societal expectations of women's image and role is a good thing in itself. However, everything has its limits, and going too far can affect health. Some young women have paid a heavy price for weight loss, one of which is anorexia nervosa.

Anorexia nervosa is a complex condition involving physical, mental, and behavioral changes caused by aversion to food and fear of gaining weight. People with this condition view food as a terrible enemy and therefore try to avoid eating, create hunger for themselves, exercise like crazy, and are obsessed with all kinds of weight loss methods, trying each one personally.

Although no one is immune to this disease, it is more common in adolescent girls, with a male-to-female ratio of 1:9.

They mostly come from upper-middle-class families, where women often dominate the household and there are more women than men.

Families may appear stable and happy on the surface, but the relationship between the parents is often abnormal.

They are often confident that they can control society, are introverted, and strive to be perfectionists, to the point that they have a serious distorted view of their body image, limiting their weight to an excessively low target, and are still not satisfied even though they are already very thin.

Anorexia often causes them to grow excessively, becoming thin and tall.

Patients with anorexia nervosa often have a lower than normal weight, suffer from severe malnutrition, have delayed menarche, have scanty menstruation, or even amenorrhea.

It seriously affects the patient's normal life.

Blindly dieting is very common. Some girls make a big fuss and shout that they should lose weight as soon as they feel that the subcutaneous fat on their arms and thighs has increased.

A Swedish survey showed that 80% of young women aged 14 to 20 believe they are overweight and should diet.

Therefore, inappropriate dietary control is a common and noteworthy problem, and it is a significant cause of anorexia nervosa. Strengthening public education is an important measure to prevent this disorder.

(II) Post-marital obesity

Some women suddenly gain weight after marriage, transforming from a slender young woman into someone who looks completely different after getting married.

There are physiological reasons for this, but changes in environmental factors may play a greater role.

Young people before marriage generally enjoy socializing and are enthusiastic about various activities, and often don't pay much attention to their diet. In particular, some girls, fearing difficulties in finding a partner, often intentionally control their diet.

Married couples enjoy a relaxed and comfortable life, especially those who have separated from their parents and started their own families. They are loving and take care of each other, worrying that the other might not be eating enough or well.

Try to cook some dishes that suit the other person's taste, so they will have a great appetite.

Many people are reluctant to throw away leftover food and will stuff it back into their mouths.

Over time, the body will gain weight.

It should be noted that men are also very likely to gain weight after marriage.

Some have also pointed out that the changes in hormone secretion at the onset of sexual activity can affect fat metabolism and may be a reason for weight gain after marriage.

(III) Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Obesity

Pregnancy is a joyous occasion for both the mother and her family. Therefore, as long as conditions permit, everyone will do their best to ensure her nutrition. Pregnant women often eat a lot, and their intake of meat, fish, eggs, and dairy products increases. Even women who usually pay great attention to their appearance are willing to make sacrifices for the sake of their children.

She would rather gain weight herself than let the fetus suffer.

At the same time, a series of changes occur in the body's endocrine and metabolism during pregnancy. Absorption is enhanced, excretion is reduced, and the function of metabolizing and utilizing nutrients is significantly enhanced, especially the synthesis of fat, in order to store nutrients for the fetus and for the body's nutritional needs after delivery.

With reduced physical activity and less energy expenditure, the balance between calorie intake and expenditure becomes severely disrupted, and excess calories are quickly converted into fat and stored in the body.

By the time of delivery, the pregnant woman was already very overweight.

Some women who gain weight during pregnancy often fail to return to normal weight after childbirth, eventually becoming obese.

Therefore, it is very important to keep weight gain during pregnancy within a reasonable range.

The question of how much weight gain is appropriate during pregnancy is a subject of much debate in the medical community.

One view holds that pregnant women are eating for two and should be allowed to eat more. However, this dietary arrangement can lead to many adverse consequences, such as excessive fetal weight and preeclampsia.

Later, another extreme view emerged, demanding that weight gain be strictly limited to 4.5 to 5.5 kilograms.

This dietary arrangement also had adverse consequences.

If a mother does not gain weight during the third month of pregnancy, she is likely to be born prematurely, which may harm the baby's health, and the mother may also suffer from toxemia or seizures.

Mothers prone to seizures are often pregnant women who gain less than 7 kg or more than 13 kg after conception.

The stages of weight gain are just as important as the total weight gain. In other words, the weight gain in each stage of pregnancy follows a certain pattern. Under normal circumstances, weight gain is extremely slow or even nonexistent in the first 3 months of pregnancy, and then it increases by about 400 grams per day.

It is worth noting that restricting weight gain during pregnancy for fear of postpartum weight gain can be very dangerous.

Studies have shown that women who consume less than 7,531.2 kilojoules (1,800 kilocalories) of energy per day cannot maintain a positive nitrogen balance. In other words, if the fetus continues to grow, it is at the expense of the mother's tissues.

Furthermore, data shows that a woman gains 4 kilograms during pregnancy, loses 2 kilograms in 6 months after delivery, and the remaining 2 kilograms usually disappear after 6 to 8 months.

It is generally believed that a weight gain of 9-11 kg is the safest amount during pregnancy and is most beneficial to the health of both mother and baby. In the second half of pregnancy, an additional 1255.2 kJ (300 kcal) of calories per day is sufficient to meet the energy needs of pregnancy and will not cause obesity in the fetus or pregnant woman.

(iv) Obesity after induced abortion

In the mid-1980s, a gynecologist at a Polish hospital conducted a follow-up study on women who had undergone induced abortions. The study found that women who had one induced abortion gained an average of 0.5 to 0.7 kilograms in weight, while women who had two induced abortions gained 0.8 to 0.9 kilograms in weight.

Similar investigations have been conducted in the former Soviet Union, France, and Italy.

Why do women gain weight after an abortion? There are two main reasons: First, after a woman becomes pregnant, the function and metabolism of hormones in her body undergo significant changes, one of which is the acceleration of fat synthesis; second, after an abortion, the endocrine system changes rapidly, causing hyperactive stomach function. Coupled with overeating high-fat and high-sugar foods, this makes it easier to become obese.

Unlike breastfeeding mothers who need to produce milk to provide energy for their babies after childbirth, women who have undergone an abortion do not have the same need for milk production.

Therefore, there is no need to supplement excessive calories; instead, one should eat more lean meat, fish, shrimp, soy products, and fresh vegetables and fruits.

(V) Menopausal obesity

Menopause is a transitional period in which a woman's ovarian function gradually declines until it completely ceases: during menopause, menstruation stops, which is called menopause.

Menopause generally occurs between the ages of 45 and 55 and is a physiological process for women. However, some women experience secondary hypothalamic and pituitary hyperfunction due to the decline of ovarian function and the weakening of estrogen's inhibition of the pituitary gland. This can lead to mental and autonomic nervous system dysfunction, often resulting in abnormal glucose metabolism, increased appetite and hunger, and obesity due to overeating.

Postmenopausal women experience a decrease in estrogen levels, leading to progressive osteoporosis. This can cause dysfunction of the musculoskeletal system, restricting physical activity, reducing calorie expenditure, and resulting in obesity.

Menopausal obesity can be divided into two types: obesity that has been present since before menopause and obesity that has newly developed during menopause. The latter accounts for 3% of female obesity. Menopausal obesity is often characterized by fat accumulation in the waist, abdomen, and arms, and is sometimes accompanied by varying degrees of edema.

In addition, some people often experience symptoms of autonomic nervous system dysfunction such as facial flushing, emotional agitation, excessive sweating, heat intolerance, poor concentration, and memory loss.