Postmenopausal women with type 2 diabetes following a 6-month Mediterranean lifestyle program combining diet, exercise and stress management reported improved blood sugar control, BMI and quality of life versus usual care.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 279 women · 26 weeks · 2003PostmenopausalCited 168 timesPubMed
Inactive overweight postmenopausal women did 12 months of diet, exercise, or both; insulin resistance improved significantly with diet and with diet plus exercise but not with exercise alone.
Mixed resultsRandomised trial · 439 women · 52 weeks · 2011Midlife womenCited 103 timesPubMed
Overweight postmenopausal women did moderate or vigorous treadmill walking for 20 weeks during calorie restriction; both exercise groups preserved lean mass but showed no extra loss of abdominal fat versus diet alone.
No difference foundRandomised trial · 95 women · 20 weeks · 2009PostmenopausalCited 128 timesPubMed
Over 54 months, women given a diet and physical activity program going through perimenopause to postmenopause had smaller LDL cholesterol increases, less weight gain, and smaller waist circumference increase than an assessment-only group.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 535 women · 234 weeks · 2001Midlife womenCited 99 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women with type 2 diabetes did diet, exercise, or both for 14 weeks; CRP fell with all approaches but exercise alone changed weight and leptin only slightly.
Direction not statedRandomised trial · 33 women · 14 weeks · 2005PostmenopausalCited 150 timesPubMed
In 107 overweight postmenopausal women over 6 months, adding resistance training to calorie restriction reduced body fat more but did not further improve lipids, insulin or inflammation markers versus diet alone.
No difference foundRandomised trial · 107 women · 26 weeks · 2009PostmenopausalCited 87 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women in an 18-month diet and physical activity program lost about 17 pounds and showed improved cholesterol, insulin and glucose compared to a health education group.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 508 women · 78 weeks · 2006PostmenopausalCited 62 timesPubMed
In 535 premenopausal women aged 44 to 50, a 6-month diet and physical activity program reduced weight, cholesterol, blood pressure and blood sugar compared with no intervention.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 520 women · 26 weeks · 1995PerimenopausalCited 78 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women with type 2 diabetes who joined a 6 month Mediterranean lifestyle program with diet and exercise counseling showed changes in social resources that were linked to improved exercise behavior and glycemic control.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 279 women · 26 weeks · 2006PostmenopausalCited 62 timesPubMed
92 postmenopausal women with obesity did diet, physical-cognitive exercise, or both for 3 months, and exercise groups showed improved memory, BDNF, insulin and body fat versus controls.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 92 women · 12 weeks · 2024PostmenopausalCited 42 timesPubMed
Breast cancer survivors did a 12-month remote diet and physical activity weight loss program and reported greater reductions in weight, fat mass, waist size, glucose and musculoskeletal pain than usual care.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 159 women · 52 weeks · 2021Midlife womenCited 40 timesPubMed
Overweight postmenopausal women with a history of weight cycling who did a 12-month diet and/or aerobic exercise program improved insulin resistance as much as non-cyclers, with no difference in adherence.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 439 women · 52 weeks · 2013PostmenopausalCited 27 timesPubMed
A review of 15 intervention studies found that physical activity combined with calorie-restricted diets in postmenopausal women generally reduced body weight, fat mass and waist size and improved blood sugar and fitness.
Reported an improvementSystematic review · 2010PostmenopausalCited 9 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women did a 1-year exercise and/or low-fat diet program, and metabolic syndrome score improved with exercise, diet or both, driven mainly by body fat loss.
Direction not statedRandomised trial · 149 women · 52 weeks · 2010PostmenopausalCited 34 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women with insulin resistance who added soy isoflavones to a Mediterranean diet and exercise programme for 24 months showed lower insulin resistance than diet and exercise alone.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 116 women · 104 weeks · 2010PostmenopausalCited 30 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women with glucose intolerance in an intensive lifestyle program combining weight loss and 150 minutes weekly exercise showed increased SHBG and lower DHEA, linked to lower glucose levels.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 382 women · 2012PostmenopausalCited 21 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women did exercise plus Mediterranean diet, with or without soy isoflavones, for 24 months; the soy group showed greater drops in fat mass, glucose, insulin and inflammation markers.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 65 women · 104 weeks · 2012PostmenopausalCited 30 timesPubMed
Protocol describes a planned 12-month trial testing a diet and physical activity weight management program in overweight postmenopausal women attending breast screening; no results reported yet.
Direction not statedRandomised trial · 414 women · 52 weeks · 2018PostmenopausalCited 15 timesPubMed
Middle-aged women in a diet and physical activity lifestyle programme maintained improvements in weight, cholesterol and blood pressure measures from 6 to 18 months, though some benefits partly declined.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 489 women · 78 weeks · 1998Midlife womenCited 19 timesPubMed
Overweight postmenopausal women did a year of diet, aerobic exercise, or both, and body weight, glucose and inflammation markers improved regardless of antidepressant use.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 439 women · 52 weeks · 2013PostmenopausalCited 13 timesPubMed
In overweight postmenopausal women, 4 weeks of diet with or without resistance training did not improve insulin-stimulated glucose disposal, though resistance training preserved muscle mass.
No difference foundRandomised trial · 19 women · 4 weeks · 2001PostmenopausalCited 30 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women underwent a 6-month mainly exercise-based weight loss program with estrogen, raloxifene, or placebo; hormone therapy did not increase abdominal fat loss but improved some lipid and glucose measures.
Mixed resultsRandomised trial · 119 women · 26 weeks · 2014PostmenopausalCited 11 timesPubMed
In 62 menopausal women, 12 weeks of resistance and endurance circuit training combined with time-restricted eating reduced BMI, fat mass, glucose and insulin more than training alone.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 62 women · 12 weeks · 2024Midlife womenCited 9 timesPubMed
46 overweight postmenopausal women did 6 months of caloric restriction with or without resistance training; both improved insulin sensitivity similarly but adiponectin reduction during hyperinsulinemia was unchanged.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 46 women · 26 weeks · 2011PostmenopausalCited 13 timesPubMed
Sedentary men and postmenopausal women with overweight/obesity did 3 weeks of vigorous treadmill exercise with calorie restriction, reducing weight, fat mass and improving insulin sensitivity without changing gut microbiome.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 30 women · 3 weeks · 2025Midlife womenCited 10 timesPubMed
Obese menopausal women did 6 months of caloric restriction with or without resistance training; adding resistance training improved muscle strength more in women with low baseline strength.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 109 women · 26 weeks · 2015Midlife womenCited 9 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women did two hours of moderate exercise before meals; exercise did not change how a low carbohydrate diet lowered insulin, but worsened evening blood sugar rises.
Mixed resultsRandomised trial · 32 women · 2016PostmenopausalCited 9 timesPubMed
Sedentary overweight or obese postmenopausal women underwent a diet based weight loss program with or without resistance training, and visceral fat measured by two methods decreased similarly after the intervention.
Direction not statedRandomised trial · 92 women · 2012PostmenopausalCited 6 timesPubMed
In 33 obese postmenopausal women with type 2 diabetes given 14 weeks of diet, exercise alone, or diet plus exercise, only exercise groups reduced visceral fat despite diet alone also reducing weight.
Mixed resultsControlled trial · 33 women · 14 weeks · 2005PostmenopausalCited 92 timesPubMed
Obese postmenopausal women with impaired glucose tolerance did aerobic exercise plus calorie restriction for 6 months and showed greater improvement in insulin-stimulated glycogen synthase activity than calorie restriction alone.
Reported an improvementControlled trial · 96 women · 26 weeks · 2012PostmenopausalCited 60 timesPubMed
In a 6 month community weight management program combining diet, counseling and exercise visits, women lost an average of 4.7% body weight, with BMI and lipids improving regardless of menopausal status.
Reported an improvementCohort study · 198 women · 26 weeks · 2006Midlife womenCited 51 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
Thirteen moderately obese postmenopausal women did 4 months of resistive training, with or without weight loss, and authors reported decreased insulin response and increased strength.
Reported an improvementControlled trial · 13 women · 16 weeks · 1996PostmenopausalCited 65 timesPubMed
Moderately obese postmenopausal women did diet alone or diet plus walking and resistance exercise for 24 weeks, and both groups lost weight with no added effect of exercise on blood lipids or glucose.
No difference foundControlled trial · 41 women · 24 weeks · 1996PostmenopausalCited 51 timesPubMed
In 22 postmenopausal women on or off hormone therapy, a 3-week low-fat, high-fiber diet with aerobic exercise raised SHBG and lowered insulin, BMI and cholesterol.
Reported an improvementControlled trial · 22 women · 3 weeks · 2000PostmenopausalCited 48 timesPubMed
A pilot trial of diet, exercise and stress management in 49 perimenopausal Latinas found the program feasible and acceptable for reducing cardiovascular risk factors over 12 months.
Direction not statedRandomised trial · 49 women · 52 weeks · 2026PerimenopausalCited 1 timesPubMed
Eight postmenopausal women added daily brisk walking to a high-carbohydrate diet for 3 days, and researchers found this suppressed fasting and postprandial leptin levels compared to diet alone.
Direction not statedControlled trial · 8 women · 2003PostmenopausalCited 35 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women received a 12-week community behavioral program targeting diet and physical activity, and waist circumference and activity behaviors improved over 24 weeks versus controls.
Direction not statedRandomised trial · 46 women · 24 weeks · 2025PostmenopausalPubMed
Diabetic postmenopausal women did treadmill walking before or after meals; exercising after meals raised bone formation markers and lowered insulin resistance more than exercising before meals.
Reported an improvementControlled trial · 15 women · 2019PostmenopausalCited 13 timesPubMed
In 60 overweight postmenopausal women, 6 months of weight loss plus aerobic exercise improved fitness and reduced android fat distribution more than weight loss alone, which did not change fitness.
Mixed resultsControlled trial · 60 women · 24 weeks · 2017PostmenopausalCited 10 timesPubMed
Twenty postmenopausal women at risk for heart disease did a 2 week diet and daily walking program and showed reduced BMI, insulin, cholesterol, and some inflammatory markers.
Reported an improvementBefore-and-after study · 20 women · 2 weeks · 2004PostmenopausalCited 82 timesPubMed
Overweight pre and postmenopausal women following a meal replacement diet plus guided exercise from week 6 to 24 both lost weight, with postmenopausal women showing greater improvements in blood pressure, triglycerides and glucose.
Reported an improvementBefore-and-after study · 72 women · 24 weeks · 2007Midlife womenCited 53 timesPubMed
Overweight postmenopausal women followed a low-fat high-fiber diet with daily exercise classes for 2 weeks, reducing serum estradiol, insulin and IGF-I levels.
Reported an improvementBefore-and-after study · 38 women · 2 weeks · 2006PostmenopausalCited 34 timesPubMed
In 56 postmenopausal breast cancer survivors on aromatase inhibitors, a multimodal exercise and health education program reduced metabolic syndrome prevalence, hypertension, central obesity, and triglycerides, and improved quality of life after 3 months.
No difference foundBefore-and-after study · 56 women · 12 weeks · 2024PostmenopausalCited 3 timesPubMed
Sixty six obese menopausal women followed a structured diet and exercise program for three months and showed reduced weight, blood pressure, glucose and cholesterol, and better quality of life.
Reported an improvementBefore-and-after study · 66 women · 12 weeks · 2016PostmenopausalCited 2 timesPubMed
Nine overweight perimenopausal Japanese women walked over 10,000 steps daily with reduced calorie intake for 12 weeks and showed improved insulin resistance markers but no change in weight or body composition.
Reported an improvementBefore-and-after study · 9 women · 12 weeks · 2008PerimenopausalCited 1 timesPubMed