Menopause and the munchies

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By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In a possible explanation of why many women

gain weight after menopause, a U.S. researcher said on Wednesday that

monkeys whose ovaries are removed eat 67 percent more food and gain 5

percent of body weight in just weeks.

Removing the ovaries induces immediate menopause by cutting off

estrogen, the so-called female hormone, said Judy Cameron of Oregon

Health & Science University.

Reporting to a meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in New

Orleans, Cameron said she may be able to help explain why so many

women begin to gain weight as they go through menopause, even though

many try not to.

" When women go through the menopause ... women aged 40 to 60 gain

weight. But there are also lifestyle changes, " Cameron said in a

telephone interview.

Separating biology from lifestyle in a study is difficult, she said,

and researchers have been unable to say definitively why women put on

pounds.

Monkeys provide a great model because they have 28-day menstrual

cycles like humans and also go through menopause, she said.

Her team removed the ovaries of 19 out of 47 monkeys at Oregon Health

& Science University. " Low estrogen in primates clearly results in

more food intake, " she said.

" In the first two months, they had a 67 percent increase in food

intake. These animals are chubby, " she said.

" Their midriffs get a little bit heavier, " she added. " Additionally,

we noted an increase of the hormone leptin, which is produced by fat

cells and has been shown to play a role in food intake. "

Estrogen gets into the brain, she noted, and could easily affect

appetite.

MONKEYS EATING MOST WEREN'T ALWAYS HEAVIEST

Mysteriously, some of the monkeys were able to eat much more without

gaining much more weight, while others gained large amounts of

weight. " There was very little correlation between what the animals

were eating and how much weight they gained, " she said.

Here was the perfect opportunity to test an idea that dieting women

have heard for years -- that eating at night puts more weight on than

daytime eating.

Like people, the monkeys had different eating habits.

" Some eat only daytime meals, she said. " Some get 60 percent of their

calories by snacking at night. "

That made no difference.

" Nighttime eaters were not any more likely to gain weight, she said.

Cameron's team is testing the metabolisms of the monkeys to see if

the lack of estrogen affected that.

The findings can help biologists try to track down what effects

estrogen has on appetite and metabolism, but it also may be

immediately useful, Cameron said.

" People ask, 'So what? " ' she said. " It offers an excuse, but it also

offers knowledge. " You need to be aware that as you go through

menopause, there is going to be a growing desire for food. "

Menopausal women can watch what they eat and exercise more, she said.

" Perhaps most importantly, this research pertains to the country's

worsening obesity epidemic, she said. " Currently about 30 percent of

Americans are considered obese. "

Cameron said she was certain drug companies were working on safer

replacements for hormone replacement therapy and perhaps could

reformulate them to battle menopausal weight gain.