Evidence library · Body fat and weight

Does yoga affect body fat and weight in menopause? What 11 studies found

Studies of yoga in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women that measured body fat and weight. 10 reported an improvement and 0 found no difference against the comparison group.

  1. A meta-analysis of 24 RCTs in menopausal women found yoga improved menopausal symptoms, sleep, anxiety, depression, BMI and blood pressure, but not hot flushes or quality of life.

    Reported an improvementMeta-analysis · 2,028 participants pooled · 2025Midlife womenCited 9 timesPubMed

  2. A network meta-analysis of 142 trials in postmenopausal women found combined training, aerobic exercise, resistance training and mind-body exercise each improved different metabolic syndrome risk factors.

    Reported an improvementMeta-analysis · 7,967 participants pooled · 2025PostmenopausalCited 1 timesPubMed

  3. Obese postmenopausal Korean women did 16 weeks of yoga exercise and showed reduced body fat, blood pressure and insulin resistance, with increased HDL cholesterol and adiponectin, versus a no-exercise control group.

    Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 16 women · 16 weeks · 2012PostmenopausalCited 75 timesPubMed

  4. Previously low active middle aged women who did a four month walking or yoga program did not improve overall self-esteem but reported gains in esteem related to physical condition and body attractiveness.

    Direction not statedRandomised trial · 164 women · 16 weeks · 2007Midlife womenCited 42 timesPubMed

  5. In 84 sedentary climacteric women with metabolic syndrome, 24 weeks of yoga reduced metabolic syndrome frequency and improved waist circumference, blood pressure, lipids, glucose and inflammation markers compared with controls.

    Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 84 women · 24 weeks · 2024Midlife womenCited 9 timesPubMed

  6. In sedentary middle-aged women, a 6 month Hatha yoga program three times weekly improved body fat, strength, aerobic fitness and balance compared to no training.

    Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 80 women · 26 weeks · 2020Midlife womenCited 4 timesPubMed

  7. In middle-aged women, 10 weeks of cyclic yoga reduced weight, body fat, blood pressure and postural musculoskeletal issues, and increased muscle mass percentage versus controls.

    Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 42 women · 10 weeks · 2025Midlife womenCited 1 timesPubMed

  8. 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

  9. Over 24 months, climacteric women practicing yoga showed reduced BMI, body fat, blood pressure and fasting glucose, and higher HDL and estradiol, compared with sedentary controls.

    Reported an improvementControlled trial · 182 women · 104 weeks · 2026Midlife womenPubMed

  10. A controlled trial of 102 sedentary climacteric women with metabolic syndrome found 24 months of Shivam Yoga reduced fasting glucose, blood pressure, waist circumference and menopausal symptom scores.

    Reported an improvementControlled trial · 102 women · 104 weeks · 2026Midlife womenPubMed

  11. This narrative review summarized medical literature finding that regular exercise in midlife and postmenopausal women is linked with reduced obesity, cancer, dementia, mood symptoms, and osteoporosis.

    Reported an improvementOther · 2015Midlife womenCited 56 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.

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