id: weight-body-composition
title: "Weight and body-composition change in menopause"
kind: symptom
summary: "The SWAN cohort reports that around the start of the menopause transition the rate of fat gain roughly doubled and lean mass declined, continuing until about 2 years after the final menstrual period. Visceral (abdominal) fat increases over the transition and is an independent predictor of metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease."
evidence_strength: limited
status: published
sources:
  - url: https://www.swanstudy.org/changes-in-body-composition-and-weight-during-the-menopause-transition/
    title: "Changes in body composition and weight during the menopause transition (SWAN)"
    publisher: "SWAN (Study of Women's Health Across the Nation)"
    study_type: "cohort"
signals:
  - sig-20260710-weight-effect
  - sig-20260710-weight-visceral-outcome
confidence: medium
first_seen: "2026-07-10"
last_updated: "2026-07-10"
notes: "'Weight and body-composition change' needs an entities entry (kind: symptom); id not invented. Single observational cohort source."