Weight gain since menopause and its associations with weight loss maintenance in obese postmenopausal women

M Sénéchal^1,2, H Arguin⁶, DR Bouchard^4,5, AC Carpentier³, JL Ardilouze³, IJ Dionne^1,2, M Brochu^1,2
1Research Centre on Aging, Health and Social Services Centre, University Institute of Geriatrics of Sherbrooke, ²Faculty of Physical Education and Sports, University of Sherbrooke, ³Clinical Research Centre, Sherbrooke University Hospital Centre, Sherbrooke, QC; ⁴Faculty of Kinesiology and Recreation Management, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB; ⁵Health, Leisure & Human Performance Research Institute, Winnipeg, MB; ⁶Division of Kinesiology, Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Laval University, QC, Canada

Objective: To examine the association between weight gain since menopause and weight regain after a weight loss program.
Methods: Participants were 19 obese women who participated in a 15-week weight loss program and a 12-month follow-up. Main outcomes were: body composition, resting metabolic rate, energy intake, energy expenditure, and weight regain at follow-up.
Results: All body composition measures significantly decreased after intervention (all P ≤ 0.01) while all measures of fatness increased significantly after the 12-month follow-up (P ≤ 0.01). Body weight gain since menopause was associated with body weight regain
(r = 0.65; P = 0.003) after follow-up even after adjustment for confounders.
Conclusion: Weight gain since menopause is associated with body weight regain following the weight loss program. Therefore, weight gain since menopause should be considered as a factor influencing weight loss maintenance in older women.

Keywords: obesity, body weight, weight regain, postmenopausal women, aging