It’s hardly the scandal of the summer, but anyone who caught sight of Kate Moss as she was snapped in Ibiza on the beach might have been a little surprised by the model and Topshop designer’s latest accessory: a tiny tummy just visible above her bikini bottoms. It seems that even the famously svelte face of 1990s heroin chic is not immune to that scourge of midlife womanhood: the “lady paunch”, a thickening waistline caused by fat migrating from the hips and thighs towards the midsection, resulting in an extra layer of belly fat, sometimes known as the “menopot”.
Perhaps now that Moss is 40, her hard-partying lifestyle is finally catching up with her. It is well know that she smokes like a trooper. “Studies show smoking causes inflammation that can lead to a more masculine pattern of fat distribution,” says Leah Hardy, co-author, with Susie Rogers and Dr Daniel Sister, of Your Hormone Doctor (Penguin £12.99). Moss might also be exercising less than she ought, but her hormones, together with poor posture, are the most likely culprit, Hardy says. “The typical age of the menopause is 51, but your hormones start to shift up to 10 years before, resulting in a midlife change of body shape. We usually think of men gathering fat at their belly and losing it from their bottoms, but women change shape, too.”
And we shouldn’t blame ourselves. “There’s a lot of judgment about women gaining weight in midlife — it’s assumed they sit around eating cake,” Hardy says. “But what people don’t realise is that women don’t get a bigger waist because they’re lazy or greedy, they’re designed to be that shape at that age. I liken it to when your hips get bigger at puberty, it’s as hormonally driven as that.” Studies suggest that when the hormone oestrogen falls below certain levels during menopause, it switches on production of the enzyme Aldh1, which plays a key role in fat formation, specifically increasing visceral fat around the midriff and internal organs. Some researchers suspect that the drop in oestrogen levels is also linked to increased levels of cortisol, a stress hormone that promotes the accumulation of abdominal fat. At the same time, the muscle-building and slimming hormones such as human growth hormone (HGH) and DHEA decline, creating a perfect hormonal storm and recipe for midsection fat gain.
Belly fat is largely visceral fat wrapped around the organs deep inside the body
Moss isn’t the first celebrity to suffer from a thickening waist. Jennifer Aniston’s sparked pregnancy rumours (again) last month, and even the formerly wasp-waisted Goldie Hawn, 68, now has the typical midlife shape: a thicker midriff, with skinny legs and a pancake bottom. Unfortunately, this pattern of weight distribution is on the increase among all women, and not just those who are menopausal. “Studies show we’re shifting towards a male pattern of weight gain at a frightening rate,” says the nutritionist Dr Marilyn Glenville, author of Fat Around the Middle: How to Lose That Bulge — For Good (Kyle Cathie £9.99). Glenville blames mounting stress — working long-hours under pressure now affects women as much as men — and dietary changes, such as skipping meals, for stimulating an excess of cortisol, which boosts appetite and tummy fat. Studies show that women who store excess fat in the abdominal area have higher levels of circulating cortisol and report more stress than women who store fat primarily on the hips. Those who react to stress by producing high levels of cortisol may also eat more when under pressure. “Increased stress sends the body the message to pile on weight around the middle. It’s almost a protective cushion, in case we need it for fight or flight,” Glenville says. “But as your life is not in danger, it’s not useful.”
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Most of us would agree that belly fat isn’t particularly sexy, the “apple” shape being the polar opposite of the hourglass. However, the real problem is that, unlike the stuff on hips and thighs that lies just under the skin, belly fat is largely visceral fat, wrapped around the organs deep inside the body. Far from being an inert storage depot, it is highly active metabolically, producing hormones and inflammatory agents that scientists now believe should be considered as part of the endocrine system and an important influence on our health. “Extra belly fat is linked to type 2 diabetes, cancer — particularly breast cancer — heart disease and possibly even Alzheimer’s,” Glenville says. (She does point out, though, that a little bit of extra midlife belly fat is nothing to worry about, providing your waist-to-hip ratio is less than 0.8.) And while scientists are still deciphering the roles of individual hormones, it’s becoming clear that excess body fat, especially abdominal fat, disrupts the normal balance and functioning of hormones.
As any woman over 40 can testify, the lady paunch can be notoriously difficult to shift, but there is plenty we can do about it. The most important dietary changes include eating little and often to avoid blood-sugar swings, says Glenville. Surges in blood sugar raise insulin levels, but when insulin is properly regulated it converts blood sugar into energy instead of storing it as fat. Eating protein at every meal and cutting back on added sugar and refined carbohydrates such as white bread and pasta will help to reduce blood sugar and insulin spikes. Eating more omega-3 fatty acids, for example from flaxseed and mackerel, and monounsaturated fats, from olive oil, will work to reduce tummy fat. Other foods thought to help include vitamin C-rich kiwis and oranges, as well as magnesium-rich green vegetables.
Glenville also advises tackling stress. “In ‘fight or flight’ mode, your body thinks times are hard and you might starve, so it hoards the fat you eat or have present on your body,” she says.
Jean-Claude Vacassin, the founder of the west London gym W10 Performance, who specialises in helping people improve their body-fat profile, agrees. “Stress is probably the biggest factor in middle-aged spread,” he says. He thinks Moss is what he calls “skinny fat”, something he sees all the time in women with size-8 frames, who look great in clothes but are woefully lacking in muscle on account of repeat dieting. Even thin people can have visceral fat. “Over 30, you definitely need to embrace strength training,” he says. “Even if you don’t lose weight, you’ll lose visceral fat and gain muscle mass.” This will do two things. “First, since muscle is more metabolically active than fat, you’ll automatically burn more calories, keeping you leaner in middle age. Second, muscles act as the store cupboards for carbohydrates, so the more muscle you have, the more carbohydrate you can store in the muscle as glycogen, readily available for energy, without converting it to fat.”
More muscle is good for hormones, too. “Strength training stops the decline of HGH, which keeps your skin young, boosts cell repair and increases metabolic rate.” And those with more muscle are less susceptible to insulin resistance (when the body doesn’t respond properly to the blood-sugar-lowering effects of insulin), which is a cause of belly fat, says Vacassin. He adds that good muscle mass holds you together structurally, improving both body shape and posture, so you’re less likely to develop a middle-aged pot belly, and building up your glutes with exercises such as deadlifts will help to halt the old-lady flat bottom, sending it in a curvier Brazilian direction.
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“It always comes back to the same core things,” Vacassin says, “a healthy, balanced diet and getting moving.”