Hormone replacement not likely to cause weight gain

For women going through menopause, the question of whether to take hormones often comes up again.

But hormone replacement therapy is less likely to cause weight gain than contraceptive hormones, experts say, because the dose is much smaller. Women on hormone replacement take 10% to 25% of what women on contraceptive doses take, says Ricardo Azziz, an obstetrician and gynecologist specializing in endocrine disorders, and president of the Medical College of Georgia, in Augusta.

And for some women at this stage of life, a little boost of estrogen may help them maintain or even lose a little weight.