Does exercise with supplements affect hormone levels in menopause? What 8 studies found

Postmenopausal women with osteopenia did 6 months of Tai Chi with or without green tea extract; both increased bone formation markers and improved muscle strength.

Mixed resultsRandomised trial · 150 women · 26 weeks · 2012PostmenopausalCited 78 timesPubMed

Obese postmenopausal women following a calorie-restricted diet and exercise, with or without soy isoflavones, for 6 months showed lower leptin and TNF-alpha, with adiponectin rising only in the soy group.

Mixed resultsRandomised trial · 87 women · 26 weeks · 2011PostmenopausalCited 56 timesPubMed

Obese postmenopausal women did six months of exercise with or without isoflavone supplementation, and exercise plus isoflavone reduced body weight and abdominal fat more than exercise alone.

Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 50 women · 26 weeks · 2007PostmenopausalCited 57 timesPubMed

In women around age 61, calcium supplementation before and during vigorous treadmill walking attenuated the rise in parathyroid hormone seen with exercise, compared to a control beverage.

Mixed resultsRandomised trial · 23 women · 2014PostmenopausalCited 33 timesPubMed

In overweight postmenopausal women completing a 12-month diet and exercise weight-loss program, adding vitamin D3 versus placebo did not change sex hormone levels overall.

No difference foundRandomised trial · 218 women · 52 weeks · 2016PostmenopausalCited 10 timesPubMed

Untrained peri- and postmenopausal women who did 10 weeks of resistance training gained significant strength, with leucine supplementation adding no extra benefit to strength, fat free mass or hormones.

No difference foundRandomised trial · 36 women · 10 weeks · 2020Midlife womenCited 5 timesPubMed

In 35 untrained perimenopausal and postmenopausal women, 10 weeks of resistance training with or without leucine supplementation increased visceral fat and fat-free mass and altered adipokine levels in both groups.

Mixed resultsRandomised trial · 35 women · 10 weeks · 2024Midlife womenCited 3 timesPubMed

In a 17 week trial of high protein diet with or without strength training, women showed more altered oxidative stress markers, suggesting lower estrogen secretion during menopause.

Direction not statedRandomised trial · 116 women · 17 weeks · 2025PostmenopausalCited 1 timesPubMed