Effects of Hormonal STatus on Energy Expenditure and Feeding behAvior in woMen(ESTEAM)

The health of women throughout their lives and especially during aging is a subject at the heart of current health issues. Indeed, hormonal variations during a woman's life condition her reproductive life, but also her cardiometabolic health (insulin sensitivity, lipid and inflammatory profile), musculoskeletal health and the maintenance of her mobility. The changes in body composition that occur with age, but also according to hormonal status (Isacco et al. 2021), as well as the metabolic impact of menopause are mechanisms favoring weight gain and more specifically fat mass (Leeners et al 2017). The decrease in estrogen levels during the transition to menopause seems to be the main factor explaining the increase in adiposity, especially visceral, and a decrease in muscle capital. Indeed, estrogens participate in the structural remodeling of muscle tissue as well as in maintaining its oxidative potential (Sutham et al 2018). However, the mechanisms promoting changes in body composition during the transition to menopause remain poorly understood. Better characterizing the energy profile (energy expenditure) and the food profile with regard to body composition in non- and postmenopausal women would make it possible to better target the recommendations for the primary prevention of cardiometabolic alterations linked to ovarian aging.