Why women should eat less, move more and consider wearing transdermal HRT patches during...(er thing when physical activity levels d...),Health

There was a related discussion about hormone replacement therapy (HRT) at the conference. Garvan's Professor Lesley Campbell, also Director of the St. Vincent's Diabetes Centre, was an invited speaker at the conference and put forward her view that HRT can actually help protect women against harmful abdominal fat gain and the development of heart disease and Type 2 diabetes.

"During menopause, most women experience redistribution of fat, often gaining weight around the middle," said Professor Campbell. "As we have demonstrated in our research, abdominal fat is a risk factor in the development of cardio-metabolic diseases, such as diabetes. Prior to menopause, women have a lower risk of heart disease than men. Menopause equalises that risk. Women taking HRT appear to maintain their pre-menopausal risk levels."

"It's also worth mentioning that around 10 years ago, Garvan endocrinologists made a very significant breakthrough discovery that is known by surprisingly few women and GPs. They found that taking HRT by wearing transdermal patches - so bypassing the liver may be better for women than taking HRT orally. "

So the overall take home message for women in menopause is eat less, move more and if you're on HRT, consider transdermal patches.

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