People with ovaries experience menopause, the life stage when your menstrual cycle has stopped for 12 months in a row. Your period stops due to hormonal changes that begin during the time leading up to menopause, known as perimenopause.
The hormonal changes in menopause and perimenopause can cause symptoms like hot flashes, weight gain, and an increase in body fat—especially in the abdominal area. This increase in belly fat can disrupt blood sugar, lipid levels, and blood pressure, leading to metabolic and heart diseases.
1. Alcohol
Habitually saying “bottoms up” can put you more at risk of having excess mid-section fat.
Alcohol adds excess calories to the diet, which alone can make it hard to lose weight, explains Michelle Routhenstein, MS, RD, CDCES, CDN, a preventive cardiology dietitian at EntirelyNourished.com.
However, booze does more than that. Routhenstein says that while some alcohol can make you feel drowsy, it can actually cause you to lose sleep, prompting a “dysregulation of appetite and satiety hormones.”
2. Sugary items
Foods high in sugar, like candy, can have some not-so-sweet effects on belly fat, especially post-menopause.
“These are high in refined sugar and low in nutrients,” Ficek says. “Candy contributes to spikes in blood sugar, increased insulin release and subsequent storage of excess energy as fat.
Regular consumption can exacerbate insulin resistance, which is closely linked to abdominal fat gain.”
It’s not just food, though. Soda and other drinks can be especially un-filling but still contain tons of sugar and calories.
3. Deep fried foods
Registered dietitians also put French fries and other deep-fried items on their list of foods to avoid for menopause belly fat.
“Deep-fried foods are very high calorie,” Hartman says. “The food absorbs the oil it’s fried in, and oil is very calorie dense. A calorie surplus—eating more than your body burns—can lead to fat accumulation.”A 2024 study with more than 27,000 participants linked fried food to higher belly fat in people without a genetic risk.
4. Highly processed meats
Protein has benefits, like keeping you full and helping you build and maintain muscles. However, a 2022 Frontiers in Nutrition study of women with overweight and obesity linked red and highly processed meats with inflammatory and metabolic markers. People who consumed more white meat had lower markers for these issues.
“Processed meats like bacon and sausage are often high in saturated fats and preservatives,” Ficek says. “Processed meats contribute to inflammation and may impact metabolic health, which can lead to fat accumulation, particularly visceral fat. Excessive intake has also been associated with higher risks of cardiovascular disease.”
5. Dairy products high in fat
Dr. Mohr says dairy products with high saturated fat content can contribute to belly fat gain during menopause if consumed too often.
A 2022 Nutrients study found that adults who consistently consumed non-fat or full-fat milk had lower BMIs than their peers who drank 1% or 2% milk or abstained from the drink altogether. However, the study still threw caution into the wind on full-fat dairy. Only non-fat milk drinkers had lower amounts of belly fat than those who drank milk with any fat, including whole.
6. Highly-processed snacks
Chips and Cheetos are Super Bowl Sunday staples. However, experts warn against making them pantry regulars.
“It goes back to insulin spikes and calorie surplus,” Hartman says. “Ultra-processed food is very easy to over-eat. It is designed to be that way, which means there is high risk for over-eating.”