A review of 28 randomised trials in postmenopausal women aged 50 to 65 found walking combined with resistance training could preserve weight and bone density and increase muscle strength.
Mixed resultsSystematic review · 2,646 participants pooled · 2004Early postmenopausalCited 219 timesPubMed
In 15 sedentary postmenopausal women, 8 weeks of brisk walking improved treadmill fitness but did not change brachial artery flow mediated dilation, unlike men who improved.
No difference foundRandomised trial · 15 women · 8 weeks · 2011PostmenopausalCited 175 timesPubMed
In postmenopausal women with borderline to stage 1 hypertension, walking an extra 3 km daily for 24 weeks lowered systolic blood pressure but not diastolic blood pressure.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 24 women · 24 weeks · 2001PostmenopausalCited 154 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women with elevated blood pressure did 3 months of daily walking or sodium restriction; both lowered resting systolic pressure, but sodium restriction reduced it three to fourfold more than walking.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 35 women · 12 weeks · 2001PostmenopausalCited 130 timesPubMed
Overweight postmenopausal women who walked three times weekly for 12 weeks with or without an EGCG supplement showed reduced waist circumference and body fat, with no difference between supplement and placebo.
Direction not statedRandomised trial · 38 women · 12 weeks · 2007PostmenopausalCited 95 timesPubMed
Sedentary postmenopausal women walking five days weekly at varying intensities and doses showed small improvements in diastolic blood pressure and blood glucose, but no change in lipids or insulin.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 246 women · 2003PostmenopausalCited 53 timesPubMed
In 34 men and postmenopausal women, 6 weeks of increased daily walking reduced triglycerides, while raisins and walking together lowered blood pressure and cholesterol, researchers reported.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 34 women · 6 weeks · 2008Midlife womenCited 55 timesPubMed
Twenty nine postmenopausal breast cancer survivors did 15 weeks of combined walking and resistance training, and the exercise group showed improved fitness, blood pressure, weight, insulin, glucose and cholesterol measures.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 29 women · 15 weeks · 2012PostmenopausalCited 45 timesPubMed
Twenty two postmenopausal women did two months of walking and cycling, and the exercise group showed increased pentraxin 3, HDL cholesterol, peak oxygen uptake and arterial compliance.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 22 women · 8 weeks · 2012PostmenopausalCited 35 timesPubMed
Sedentary overweight postmenopausal women tested brief standing or walking breaks during prolonged sitting; walking breaks lowered post-meal glucose response and standing breaks improved vascular function versus sitting.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 10 women · 2017PostmenopausalCited 36 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women with osteoporosis did brisk walks and aerobic exercise for one year; the training group reduced waist circumference versus controls, with no significant changes in blood pressure or lipids.
No difference foundRandomised trial · 92 women · 52 weeks · 2009PostmenopausalCited 22 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal obese black women with a family history of breast cancer did six months of supervised or home-based walking exercise and showed improved metabolic syndrome scores compared to controls.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 213 women · 26 weeks · 2018PostmenopausalCited 14 timesPubMed
Middle-aged women and men with normal, impaired or diabetic glucose tolerance did 4 months of Nordic walking, and researchers found vascular function measures did not improve and did not differ by gender.
No difference foundRandomised trial · 201 women · 16 weeks · 2015Midlife womenCited 15 timesPubMed
26 overweight, middle-aged women used pedometers for 12 weeks, increasing daily steps by 36% and lowering systolic blood pressure, but weight and body fat did not differ from controls.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 26 women · 12 weeks · 2009Midlife womenCited 26 timesPubMed
Sedentary overweight middle-aged women followed either a 30-minutes-a-day walking goal or a 10,000-steps-a-day pedometer goal for 12 weeks, and the steps group increased activity more than the minutes group.
No difference foundRandomised trial · 30 women · 12 weeks · 2011Midlife womenCited 24 timesPubMed
A 3-month trial will compare pedometer-based walking programs of differing intensity against a control group for effects on blood pressure in 120 sedentary postmenopausal women.
Direction not statedRandomised trial · 120 women · 12 weeks · 2014PostmenopausalCited 13 timesPubMed
In sedentary postmenopausal women, 12 weeks of step-counting programs increased daily steps and activity but changed only body mass index among clinical outcomes measured.
No difference foundRandomised trial · 115 women · 12 weeks · 2020PostmenopausalCited 9 timesPubMed
A 10-week intermittent walking programme in 36 obese postmenopausal women reduced thyroid stimulating hormone, triglycerides, cholesterol and blood pressure, and improved fitness and HDL cholesterol.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 36 women · 10 weeks · 2026Early postmenopausalCited 8 timesPubMed
In sedentary hypertensive postmenopausal women, an 8-week program of short, intermittent moderate-intensity activity sessions lowered resting blood pressure compared with no change in activity.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 18 women · 8 weeks · 2001PostmenopausalCited 16 timesPubMed
In sedentary postmenopausal women on hormone therapy, a 3-month walking program increased carotid artery compliance by about 40%, reaching levels similar to premenopausal women.
Reported an improvementControlled trial · 12 women · 12 weeks · 2003PostmenopausalCited 143 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women did 12 weeks of functional HIIT or combined aerobic and resistance training; only the combined training group showed a significant drop in systolic blood pressure, and HIIT was not equivalent.
Mixed resultsRandomised trial · 49 women · 12 weeks · 2022PostmenopausalCited 5 timesPubMed
Hypertensive postmenopausal women did single sessions of interval step exercise or continuous walking, and both acutely lowered systolic blood pressure compared to a no-exercise control session.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 12 women · 2023PostmenopausalCited 5 timesPubMed
Obese postmenopausal women who followed 6 months of hypocaloric diet plus low-intensity walking lost weight and abdominal fat and improved lipid and glucose measures, in both Caucasian and African-American women.
Reported an improvementControlled trial · 76 women · 26 weeks · 2003PostmenopausalCited 63 timesPubMed
Sedentary postmenopausal women did 13 weeks of moderate walking training; it lowered inflammatory TNF-alpha and cortisol/DHEA-S ratio and reduced cardiovascular measures regardless of ACE gene type.
Reported an improvementControlled trial · 36 women · 13 weeks · 2013PostmenopausalCited 27 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women did a 12-week fitness walking program and showed improved triglycerides, blood pressure, blood sugar, waist circumference and HDL versus controls who worsened.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 30 women · 12 weeks · 2025PostmenopausalCited 1 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal breast cancer survivors who did 15 weeks of combined walking and resistance training improved aerobic capacity, resting heart rate, body weight and BMI, with no change in blood pressure.
No difference foundControlled trial · 29 women · 15 weeks · 2010PostmenopausalCited 25 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women did brisk walking with or without added yoga for three months, and adding yoga produced greater improvements in BMI, blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 139 women · 12 weeks · 2026PostmenopausalPubMed
In a pilot RCT of 31 postmenopausal women with hypertension, supervised aerobic exercise improved VO2 max and heart rate variability over 12 weeks, with a greater reduction in blood pressure variability than home based walking.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 31 women · 12 weeks · 2026PostmenopausalPubMed
In a 12-week trial, healthy postmenopausal women who did supervised Nordic walking three times weekly reduced body mass, fat mass, insulin level and systolic blood pressure compared with controls.
Reported an improvementControlled trial · 39 women · 12 weeks · 2017PostmenopausalCited 9 timesPubMed
51 middle-aged Korean women did 12 weeks of self-management or structured walking classes; both groups showed improved body fat and blood pressure with no difference between them.
No difference foundControlled trial · 51 women · 12 weeks · 2011Midlife womenCited 9 timesPubMed
Among 173 midlife women aged 45 to 65 entering a home-based walking program, more African American women than Caucasian women had hypertension and low physical fitness at baseline.
Direction not statedCross-sectional study · 173 women · 2001Midlife womenCited 12 timesPubMed
A trial protocol will compare 3 months of inspiratory muscle strength training to brisk walking in postmenopausal women with elevated blood pressure, but results are not yet reported.
Direction not statedOther · 72 women · 12 weeks · 2022PostmenopausalCited 7 timesPubMed