Evidence library · Body fat and weight

Does other exercise affect body fat and weight in menopause? What 13 studies found

Studies of other exercise in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women that measured body fat and weight. 9 reported an improvement and 3 found no difference against the comparison group.

  1. A meta-analysis of 17 RCTs in postmenopausal women with sarcopenia found exercise interventions improved muscle mass, strength and physical function such as gait speed.

    No difference foundMeta-analysis · 744 participants pooled · 2026PostmenopausalCited 1 timesPubMed

  2. 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

  3. Over 14 weeks, postmenopausal women adding whole-body electromyostimulation to their usual endurance and strength training maintained resting metabolic rate and gained more strength than controls.

    Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 30 women · 14 weeks · 2010PostmenopausalCited 71 timesPubMed

  4. A meta-analysis of postmenopausal women found physical exercise training reduced fat mass compared to placebo, and combining hormone therapy with exercise best reduced fat mass while preserving lean mass.

    Reported an improvementMeta-analysis · 2022PostmenopausalPubMed

  5. Women aged 39 to 64 completed 21 weeks of exercise training, and DXA detected significant changes in body fat and lean mass that bioimpedance and skinfold methods underestimated.

    Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 97 women · 21 weeks · 2013Midlife womenCited 24 timesPubMed

  6. Menopausal women aged 45 to 59 practiced Rusie Dutton traditional Thai exercise for 13 weeks and showed significant improvements in fitness, flexibility, blood pressure and quality of life versus controls.

    No difference foundRandomised trial · 50 women · 13 weeks · 2014Midlife womenCited 20 timesPubMed

  7. Sedentary postmenopausal women did 10 weeks of aerobic and strength training with or without whole-body electromyostimulation; the stimulation group showed greater power and velocity gains but little effect on body composition.

    No difference foundRandomised trial · 34 women · 10 weeks · 2020PostmenopausalCited 9 timesPubMed

  8. Obese postmenopausal women did Taekwondo training five times weekly for 16 weeks and showed reduced weight, body fat, cholesterol and negative mood, with increased serotonin.

    Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 24 women · 16 weeks · 2021PostmenopausalCited 7 timesPubMed

  9. In 43 sedentary postmenopausal women, 12 weeks of cycle ergometer training twice weekly increased VO2max by 9.2% and reduced weight, while a passive exercise device did not improve fitness.

    Mixed resultsRandomised trial · 43 women · 12 weeks · 1990PostmenopausalCited 1 timesPubMed

  10. In postmenopausal women, combined strength and aerobic training reduced fat mass more than functional training, while functional training alone reduced LDL cholesterol.

    Reported an improvementControlled trial · 52 women · 2017PostmenopausalCited 4 timesPubMed

  11. Postmenopausal women did 12 weeks of Bungy Pump Training, 3 times weekly, and showed greater gains in fitness and reductions in visceral fat and body fat than women doing daily activity.

    Reported an improvementControlled trial · 56 women · 12 weeks · 2025PostmenopausalCited 1 timesPubMed

  12. Postmenopausal women did a 16 week outdoor exercise program combining cardio, strength, balance and flexibility; the exercise group reduced fat mass and visceral fat more than controls, but sleep duration and quality did not improve.

    Reported an improvementControlled trial · 75 women · 16 weeks · 2025PostmenopausalPubMed

  13. In a 3 month home-based internet physical-cognitive exercise program for middle-aged obese women, body weight and BMI decreased while fitness and lower limb muscle power improved, with high adherence.

    Reported an improvementBefore-and-after study · 33 women · 12 weeks · 2023Midlife womenCited 1 timesPubMed

How to read this. Each line is one study, summarised in plain language from its PubMed abstract, with the authors' own sentence underneath on the study page. A count of studies is not a verdict: trials differ in size, length and quality, and a result in one group of women may not hold in another. Nothing here is medical advice.

Summaries are generated, then checked by machine against the abstract they came from; any summary that could not be matched word for word was left out. Our clinical lead is reviewing the summaries topic by topic, and this note will change when that is done. Corpus last refreshed 2026-11-03. Spotted a mistake? Tell us and we will fix the summary or remove the study.

Other exercise types and body fat and weight