Effects of hormone replacement therapy on weight, body composition, fat distribution, and food intake in early postmenopausal women: a prospective study.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the effects of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) on body weight and composition, fat distribution, and food intake in women entering the climacteric.


METHODS
Prospective clinical study.


METHODS
Outpatient menopause clinic at a tertiary medical center.


METHODS
Sixty-three early postmenopausal women (44 to 54 years old) were prospectively studied for 1 year. They consisted of two groups: group A, 34 subjects who initiated continuous estrogen and progestin treatment (daily oral conjugated estrogen 0.625 mg and medroxyprogesterone acetate 2.5 mg), and group B, 29 women who refused hormonal therapy and served as controls. The age, menopausal status, initial anthropometric measurements (weight, body mass index [BMI], fat mass, and waist-to-hip girth ratio), and daily food intake (total caloric intake and food composition) were similar in both groups.


METHODS
Anthropometric measurements were performed before commencement of HRT use and after 12 months.


METHODS
Anthropometric measurements included BMI, waist-to-hip girth ratio, and body composition (the percentage of body fat and water) estimated by means of infrared interactance. Daily food intake was also recorded.


RESULTS
The body weight and fat mass increased significantly in both the treatment (73.22 +/- 2.01 [mean +/- SE] to 75.57 +/- 1.12 kg) and the control group (71.45 +/- 3.11 to 73.51 +/- 1.23 kg). However, a significant shift from gynoid to android fat distribution was observed only in the control group (waist-to-hip ratio shifted from 0.80 +/- 0.01 to 0.85 +/- 0.01), whereas no significant change was observed in the treatment group (0.81 +/- 0.01 to 0.82 +/- 0.01). Caloric and macronutrient intake did not change in either group.


CONCLUSIONS
These results indicate that continuous daily estrogen and progestin replacement therapy neither prevents nor increases early postmenopausal weight gain and fat accumulation. However, it does minimize the shift from gynoid to android fat distribution.
Reubinoff
B E
BE
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hebrew University Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem, Israel.
Wurtman
J
J
Rojansky
N
N
Adler
D
D
Stein
P
P
Schenker
J G
JG
Brzezinski
A
A
D000328:Adult; D000886:Anthropometry; D001823:Body Composition / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D001824:Body Constitution; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D004435:Eating / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D002149:Energy Intake / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D015914:Estrogen Replacement Therapy; D004967:Estrogens / Q000494:pharmacology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D017258:Medroxyprogesterone Acetate / Q000494:pharmacology; D008875:Middle Aged; D017698:Postmenopause / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D045167:Progesterone Congeners / Q000494:pharmacology; D011446:Prospective Studies
D004967:Estrogens; D045167:Progesterone Congeners; D017258:Medroxyprogesterone Acetate