Think of menopause as a beginning. It's the chance to renew your commitment to a healthier lifestyle. All the changes your body is experiencing result in you taking a closer look at your health. During this time, you may have a lot of questions, especially about hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Taking supplemental estrogen may lower your risk of heart attacks and osteoporosis, but it could increase the chance of breast cancer in some cases.

Here are answers to some common concerns women have.

Q. Why am I gaining weight as I approach menopause?

A. Blame age, inactivity, and your declining metabolism--not the coming of menopause.

Metabolism, your body's internal calorie burner, drops 2 percent a year in your 40s, says Dr. Steven R. Goldstein, an obstetrics/gynecology professor at New York University. That means you need to eat less and exercise more to keep your weight steady.

"It's a myth that hormone replacement therapy causes weight gain," he says. Indeed, women on hormone replacement therapy gain an average of 2 pounds in the three years around menopause. But women who don't use HRT gain an average of 4 pounds.

Q. Can taking HRT cause cancer?