A meta-analysis of 39 RCTs in postmenopausal women found exercise training improved waist circumference, triglycerides, HDL, glucose, and blood pressure, with combined training most effective.
Reported an improvementMeta-analysis · 2,132 participants pooled · 2023PostmenopausalCited 33 timesPubMed
A network meta-analysis of 38 trials in postmenopausal women found water exercise best improved blood pressure and total cholesterol, combined training improved triglycerides and HDL, and resistance training improved LDL.
Reported an improvementMeta-analysis · 1,407 participants pooled · 2022PostmenopausalCited 16 timesPubMed
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
A meta-analysis of 23 trials in 1001 postmenopausal women found concurrent aerobic and resistance training modestly improved body composition and metabolic markers, with no significant change in inflammation markers.
Reported an improvementMeta-analysis · 1,001 participants pooled · 2026PostmenopausalCited 2 timesPubMed
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
A network meta-analysis of 51 RCTs in postmenopausal women found HIIT, aerobic and combined exercise significantly lowered triglycerides versus control, while resistance training did not.
Reported an improvementMeta-analysis · 2,046 participants pooled · 2026PostmenopausalPubMed
A review found that 12 to 16 weeks of recreational football training in women aged 18 to 65 improved aerobic fitness, blood pressure, fat loss, lipid profile and bone mineralisation.
Reported an improvementSystematic review · 2018Midlife womenCited 45 timesPubMed
Overweight postmenopausal women on a 12 week calorie restricted diet with added aerobic and resistance exercise lost more fat and preserved lean mass compared to diet alone.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 118 women · 12 weeks · 1993PostmenopausalCited 155 timesPubMed
Overweight postmenopausal women did 6 months of resistance and aerobic exercise with or without soy isoflavones; exercise reduced fat mass and increased lean mass, with no added benefit from isoflavones.
Direction not statedRandomised trial · 100 women · 26 weeks · 2011PostmenopausalCited 65 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women with heart disease followed a lifestyle program combining diet, exercise and stress management for 24 months, reporting improved body mass and quality of life versus usual care.
No difference foundRandomised trial · 28 women · 104 weeks · 2000PostmenopausalCited 75 timesPubMed
In obese postmenopausal women, both aerobic and combined aerobic plus strength training reduced body fat and increased fat-free mass, with combined training producing a greater fat percentage reduction.
Mixed resultsRandomised trial · 65 women · 2016PostmenopausalCited 41 timesPubMed
In sedentary postmenopausal women, 12 weeks of combined endurance and resistance training improved body composition, performance and insulin sensitivity, with no added benefit from DHEA supplementation.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 31 women · 12 weeks · 2008PostmenopausalCited 49 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
Obese, sedentary postmenopausal women underwent a 6-month lifestyle change program with increased physical activity and reported reduced weight, fat mass, blood pressure, and cholesterol.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 44 women · 26 weeks · 2004PostmenopausalCited 48 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women did 10 weeks of combined aerobic and resistance training with or without isoflavone supplement; exercise alone was linked to lower total cholesterol and higher IL-8, with no added effect of isoflavone.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 32 women · 10 weeks · 2018PostmenopausalCited 27 timesPubMed
In a 16-week RCT, postmenopausal women doing circuit-style functional training with elastic bands and walking reduced body fat and improved strength, coordination, agility and cholesterol levels versus controls.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 50 women · 16 weeks · 2017PostmenopausalCited 24 timesPubMed
Perimenopausal women did 4 months of concurrent aerobic and resistance training; the exercise group showed lower LDL cholesterol than a counseling-only group.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 150 women · 16 weeks · 2018PerimenopausalCited 12 timesPubMed
Obese middle-aged women did 8 weeks of combined aerobic and resistance exercise at moderate or vigorous intensity and researchers found reduced body weight, body fat, and triglycerides in both groups.
Mixed resultsRandomised trial · 16 women · 8 weeks · 2023Midlife womenCited 13 timesPubMed
Inactive postmenopausal women did recreational team handball training for 36 weeks and researchers reported improved fitness, knee strength, lumbar spine bone density, and lipid markers.
Mixed resultsRandomised trial · 45 women · 36 weeks · 2023PostmenopausalCited 10 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.
No difference foundRandomised trial · 62 women · 12 weeks · 2024Midlife womenCited 9 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women with prediabetes did an intensive lifestyle program including 150 minutes of weekly exercise, which lowered LDL and raised HDL cholesterol after one year, mainly among hormone therapy users.
Mixed resultsRandomised trial · 724 women · 52 weeks · 2013PostmenopausalCited 6 timesPubMed
In older women with metabolic syndrome, 16 weeks of combined aerobic and resistance training improved fitness and strength but did not change body composition, blood pressure or lipid and glucose profiles.
No difference foundRandomised trial · 25 women · 16 weeks · 2022Midlife womenCited 8 timesPubMed
In 25 hypertensive women followed 9 years through menopause, soccer-based exercise training reduced blood pressure, body fat, cholesterol, and kept fasting glucose stable compared to non-exercising controls.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 25 women · 468 weeks · 2024Midlife womenCited 7 timesPubMed
In postmenopausal women, 16 weeks of concurrent aerobic plus strength training raised HDL cholesterol and lowered atherogenic index, with benefits sustained a year later in those with high triglycerides.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 60 women · 16 weeks · 2018PostmenopausalCited 6 timesPubMed
Twenty-six obese middle-aged women with prehypertension did 6 weeks of resistance plus moderate or high-intensity aerobic training; both groups improved body composition, blood pressure, and fitness, with resistance plus HIIT improving lipids more.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 26 women · 6 weeks · 2025Midlife womenCited 6 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women aged 45 to 59 did a 6 month strength and stamina exercise programme in water and on land, which lowered systolic blood pressure and insulin more than no exercise.
No difference foundRandomised trial · 63 women · 26 weeks · 2008PostmenopausalCited 7 timesPubMed
In 26 postmenopausal women, 8 weeks of combined exercise with ursolic acid supplementation raised handgrip strength more than exercise with placebo, but waist circumference and other outcomes did not differ.
No difference foundRandomised trial · 26 women · 8 weeks · 2021PostmenopausalCited 6 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women with fatty liver did 8 weeks of combined aerobic-resistance training with or without royal jelly, and the supplement group showed larger improvements in liver enzymes and lipid profile.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 23 women · 8 weeks · 2025PostmenopausalCited 4 timesPubMed
In 70 postmenopausal women with type 2 diabetes, a 12 week home-based multi-task exercise program improved HDL levels, cognitive function, and physical fitness compared to controls.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 70 women · 12 weeks · 2025PostmenopausalCited 3 timesPubMed
Obese middle-aged women who did combined aerobic and resistance training lost more abdominal subcutaneous and visceral fat and gained more lean mass than those doing aerobic training alone.
Reported an improvementControlled trial · 30 women · 2003Midlife womenCited 73 timesPubMed
Overweight women aged 35 to 50 did 10 weeks of HIIT or HIIT plus resistance training; strength improved with combined training and lipid and insulin markers improved in both groups, but fitness did not improve.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 27 women · 10 weeks · 2024Midlife womenCited 3 timesPubMed
In 60 postmenopausal women, 16 weeks of aerobic or combined aerobic plus strength training improved body composition and metabolic markers, but leg lean mass returned to pre-training levels after 6 months of detraining.
Direction not statedControlled trial · 60 women · 16 weeks · 2017PostmenopausalCited 27 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women with type 2 diabetes did supervised aerobic and resistance training three times weekly for 10 weeks and showed improved fitness and artery compliance, but no change in blood pressure or lipids.
No difference foundControlled trial · 28 women · 10 weeks · 2004PostmenopausalCited 29 timesPubMed
Obese middle-aged women did 12 weeks of combined resistance and aerobic training, which lowered body fat, blood pressure, glucose, triglycerides, and visfatin versus controls.
Mixed resultsControlled trial · 20 women · 12 weeks · 2011Midlife womenCited 21 timesPubMed
Early postmenopausal women did high impact aerobic, jumping and resistance exercise for 50 months, maintaining spine bone density and improving cholesterol, body fat and strength versus non-training controls.
Reported an improvementControlled trial · 68 women · 217 weeks · 2007Early postmenopausalCited 18 timesPubMed
In 16 hypertensive postmenopausal women, 12 weeks of combined circuit exercise reduced arterial stiffness, body weight and total cholesterol compared with controls.
Reported an improvementControlled trial · 16 women · 12 weeks · 2018PostmenopausalCited 10 timesPubMed
Overweight postmenopausal women did combined aerobic and anaerobic exercise plus diet for 12 weeks and lost more fat with preserved lean mass versus diet alone.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 118 women · 12 weeks · 1994PostmenopausalPubMed
In middle-aged women with abdominal obesity, 12 weeks of combined aerobic and resistance training reduced waist circumference, cholesterol, triglycerides and carotid artery thickness and improved fitness versus controls.
Reported an improvementControlled trial · 40 women · 12 weeks · 2021Midlife womenCited 4 timesPubMed
In postmenopausal women, combined strength and aerobic training reduced fat mass more than functional training, while functional training alone reduced LDL cholesterol.
Mixed resultsControlled trial · 52 women · 2017PostmenopausalCited 4 timesPubMed
Sedentary women aged 40 to 60 did a 26 week multicomponent exercise program; postmenopausal women showed greater blood pressure and waist reductions, premenopausal women showed greater lipid and glucose improvements.
Mixed resultsControlled trial · 38 women · 26 weeks · 2025Midlife womenCited 3 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women who habitually did combined aerobic and resistance exercise for over a year had longer telomere length and better metabolic markers than sedentary women of similar age.
Reported an improvementCross-sectional study · 44 women · 2012PostmenopausalCited 45 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women did 16 weeks of combined strength and aerobic training; both positive and negative HDL responders lost body fat, but only positive responders showed HDL cholesterol gains.
Mixed resultsBefore-and-after study · 38 women · 16 weeks · 2018PostmenopausalCited 5 timesPubMed
Obese postmenopausal women did a 10 week mixed Nordic walking and strength training program and showed improved fitness, strength, waist to hip ratio and cholesterol levels.
Reported an improvementBefore-and-after study · 10 weeks · 2014PostmenopausalCited 8 timesPubMed
A 12-week combined aerobic and resistance programme in 101 perimenopausal Chinese teachers lowered triglycerides and fasting glucose and improved muscular strength and endurance.
Reported an improvementBefore-and-after study · 101 women · 12 weeks · 2026PerimenopausalCited 1 timesPubMed
Middle-aged Korean women over 40 did 12 weeks of combined aerobic and resistance exercise and showed significant improvements in body composition, blood pressure, fitness and metabolic measures overall.
Reported an improvementBefore-and-after study · 185 women · 12 weeks · 2014Midlife womenPubMed