A new study by researchers from The Ohio State University, the University of California, Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute, USA, and Karl-Franzens University, Austria, has reported that a high-fat diet and/or lack of oestrogen increases the formation of visceral fat.

There seems to be a switch in females, through Aldh1, between the breakdown and storage of fat.

After the menopause, the lack of oestrogen may mean that the body breaks down less fat and stores more, which may account for the weight gain many women experience during the menopause.

NHS news 

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