Effects of the menopausal transition on dietary intake and appetite: a MONET Group Study

The purpose of this study was to investigate changes in dietary intake and appetite across the menopausal transition.

This was a 5-year observational, longitudinal study on the menopausal transition. The study included 94 premenopausal women at baseline (age: 49.9±1.9 years; BMI: 23.3±2.3 kg/m2). Body composition (dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry), appetite (visual analogue scale), eating frequency, energy intake (EI) and macronutrient composition (7-day food diary and buffet-type meal) were measured annually.

Repeated-measures analyses revealed that total EI and carbohydrate intake from food diary decreased significantly over time in women who became postmenopausal by year 5 (P>0.05) compared with women in the menopausal transition. In women who became postmenopausal by year 5, fat and protein intakes decreased across the menopausal transition (0.05>P<0.01). Although a decrease in % fat intake was observed during the menopausal transition (P<0.05), this variable was significantly increased in the postmenopausal years (P<0.05). Spontaneous EI and protein intake also declined over time and were higher in the years preceding menopause onset (P<0.05). Desire to eat, hunger and prospective food consumption increased during the menopausal transition and remained at this higher level in the postmenopausal years (0.05>P<0.001). Fasting fullness decreased across the menopausal transition (P<0.05).

These results suggest that menopausal transition is accompanied with a decrease in food intake and an increase in appetite.