People who regularly eat and drink more calories than they burn each day are more likely to gain extra weight, including belly fat. Getting older also makes a difference. People lose muscle as they age. And the problem is worse for those who are not physically active.
It might be as simple as eating too much too fast, or you could have a food intolerance or other condition that causes gas and digestive contents to build up. Your menstrual cycle is another common cause of temporary bloating. Sometimes a bloated stomach can indicate a more serious medical condition.
Gaining weight solely in your stomach may be the result of specific lifestyle choices. The two S's — stress and sugar — play a significant role in the size of your midsection. Certain medical conditions and hormonal changes can contribute to abdominal weight gain.
You could have a condition called Diastasis Recti Abdominus, or DRA. DRA is caused by an increase in abdominal pressure and occurs when the rectus abdominus, the abdominal muscle that runs down the center of your stomach, separates.
If you're expecting your second or subsequent baby, you may also tend to have a larger bump. This is probably because your tummy muscles have been stretched by previous pregnancies. Being overweight, or gaining a lot of weight during pregnancy, may also make your bump look bigger.
Sometimes, excess fat around the belly is due to hormones. Hormones help regulate many bodily functions, including metabolism, stress, hunger, and sex drive. If a person has a deficiency in certain hormones, it may result in weight gain around the abdomen, which is known as a hormonal belly.
The PCOS belly involves the accumulation of visceral fat in the lower abdomen and typically feels firm to the touch. A PCOS belly is also characterized by a high waist-to-hip ratio of greater than 0.87 (apple body shape). However, some individuals may not experience any noticeable changes in their stomach.
Belly fat caused by stress is more common than you think. In fact, it's so common that medical experts dub it “stress belly.” Although not a medical diagnosis, stress belly is a term used to describe how stress and hormones caused by stress affect your belly. Stress affects weight for a number of reasons.
Overall, a combination of lifestyle changes, such as dietary modifications, exercise, stress management, and adequate sleep, is key to reducing hormonal belly fat effectively. In some cases, hormone replacement therapy or body shaping procedures may also be considered.
Oestrogen and fat distribution
Reduced levels of oestrogen after menopause can cause fat to be stored around your waist rather than on your hips and thighs. In postmenopausal women, belly fat accounts for 15 to 20% of their total body weight, compared with 5 to 8% in premenopausal women.
A hormonal belly looks like an accumulation of fat around the belly. It looks like excess fat on the stomach that cannot be removed. Hormonal imbalances can lead to excess fat accumulation in the belly area.
Cortisol belly fat, or visceral fat, is often associated with high stress levels. When the body is under chronic stress, it produces an excess of the hormone cortisol, which can lead to fat accumulation, particularly around the abdominal area.
Women of every race and ethnicity can have PCOS. It's common for women to find out they have PCOS when they have trouble getting pregnant, but it often begins soon after the first menstrual period, as young as age 11 or 12. It can also develop in the 20s or 30s.
The OVARY body type or ovary belly is a female-only problem and is where weight is gained in the thigh and lower belly areas. The ovary belly type is also caused by an excess of the oestrogen hormone, and it's often more present during hormonal changes that take place during menstruation and after giving birth.
Weight gain in individuals with PCOS follows a characteristic pattern that involves more abdominal visceral fat gain compared to the rest of the body. This kind of weight gain in the lower abdomen appears to be associated with inflammation.
“A decrease in estrogen levels is associated with the loss of subcutaneous fat—fat stored under the skin—and an increase in abdominal fat,” says women's health expert Jennifer Wider, M.D. Your body also tends to have higher levels of cortisol, i.e. stress hormones around this time, Dr.
Struggling with belly fat and sudden weight gain as early as perimenopausal thru to post-menopause is really common. Data shows that post-menopausal women really struggle with obesity. You're not alone. According to science, you can actually lose hormonal belly fat!
Causes might include: Gas from functional indigestion, food intolerances or irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Constipation causing a build-up of feces and back-up of digestive contents. Urinary retention causing a build-up of urine.
“People can look pregnant with cysts because the cyst fills the same place that a growing pregnancy would fill. They stretch out the abdominal muscles and skin and generally fall to the midline as they enlarge, rather than staying on one side of the pelvis,” Hinckley said.
High Leptin
High levels of the hormone leptin are also associated with increased weight gain in the lower belly. Fat cells release leptin, which sends signals to your brain that trigger a feeling of fullness after eating, signaling that your body has stored enough fat.