How to deal with belly fat

Brief summary of episode:

Belly fat, middle-aged spread, apple-shape, central adiposity....

Call it what you will, as we age it seems to creep up on us. Over 43% of menopausal women have obesity and in today’s show I discuss with nutritionist, researcher and inventor of the Shape Chart Dr Margaret Ashwell OBE about why having fat around your middle has different consequences to having it elsewhere.

Margaret has spent several years researching weight gain and fat and she will tell us about apple and pear shapes, and which is a better predictor of health risk.

We also have a range of questions from social media followers to put to her......

Bullet points of key topics + chapter markers 

Topic #1 What is belly fat and what are the implications of having it in excess
Topic #2   Identifying belly fat – the string test, who is most at risk?

Topic #3 Why is it so hard to shift especially at menopause and what are the options?

Listener questions:

What can I do to realistically reduce belly fat?

I’m always craving sweet foods – is it hormonal?

Three things to measure and keep monitoring as you age

Blood pressure HbA1c (average blood glucose levels for the last 3 months) Cholesterol

List of resources:

Margaret's website: www.ashwell.uk.com

NICE Guidelines: Keep the size of your waist to less than half of your height, updated NICE draft guideline recommends | News and features | News | NICE

Welcome to 'Women Positively Ageing', the podcast that brings you the best of current research and advice on how to live well for longer.
I’m your host Barbara Bray and in each episode I’ll be joined by an expert in ageing and health research talking about the health challenges they have found and how they can be prevented or reduced.

The thought of ageing may fill you with dread but there are tools out there to
- help you overcome those fears
- learn what challenges to watch out for and
- proactively change your lifestyle to age happily and well

Join me and my guests as we discuss living well for longer, enjoy the show and do let us know what changes you put in place.

• No. of episodes: 12
• Latest episode: 2023-06-02
• Health & Fitness Medicine Nutrition

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