Weight gain during menopause continues to be a challenge to women.  About 30% of women aged 50-59 are not just overweight, but obese.  This weight gain increases one’s risk for high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes.    Just when we are getting used to the other symptoms often associated with menopause (hot flashes, insomnia, etc), we now have to worry about other serious chronic diseases!   It’s hard not to say, “aging is not for sissies”.

So why does menopause add those unwanted inches?  Scientists and physicians indicate that it is probably due to a number of factors related to both menopause and aging.

Our recent blog on male menopause has generated a number of questions, especially on the side effects of hormone treatments.   I went back to Dr. Robert Brannigan, a Northwestern University urologist,  who was quoted in our previous blog on the topic for guidance and he shared an article that was jointly prepared by the Practice Committee of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine and the Society for Male Reproduction and Urology entitled, “Androgen deficiency in the aging male” (Fertility and Sterility, Vol.