A meta-analysis of 32 studies in postmenopausal women found aerobic, resistance and combined exercise training reduced inflammatory markers IL-6, TNF-alpha and CRP, and increased adiponectin, versus control.
Reported an improvementMeta-analysis · 1,510 participants pooled · 2021PostmenopausalCited 58 timesPubMed
A meta-analysis of 20 trials in overweight or obese postmenopausal and older women found resistance training improved body fat, metabolic risk and inflammation, with higher training volume giving larger glucose and inflammation improvements.
Reported an improvementMeta-analysis · 2024PostmenopausalCited 15 timesPubMed
A meta-analysis of 12 trials in postmenopausal women found resistance training reduced C-reactive protein and improved lipid profile but had little effect on waist circumference.
Reported an improvementMeta-analysis · 482 participants pooled · 2022PostmenopausalCited 3 timesPubMed
A network meta-analysis of 39 trials in postmenopausal women with overweight or obesity found resistance training lowered CRP most, combined training lowered IL-6 and TNF-alpha, and leptin did not change.
Reported an improvementMeta-analysis · 2,714 participants pooled · 2026PostmenopausalPubMed
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
Twenty three obese postmenopausal women did 12 weeks of resistance training and researchers found increased strength and reduced C-reactive protein, leptin and TNF-alpha, with no change in body composition.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 23 women · 12 weeks · 2012PostmenopausalCited 103 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal breast cancer survivors did 3 months of walking plus resistance band training; fatigue effect sizes were small and not statistically significant, with inflammatory markers mediating change.
Mixed resultsRandomised trial · 46 women · 12 weeks · 2014PostmenopausalCited 70 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women did low or high volume resistance training three times weekly for 16 weeks, and both groups gained strength while high volume training reduced waist size, cholesterol and inflammation more.
Mixed resultsRandomised trial · 32 women · 16 weeks · 2016PostmenopausalCited 70 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal breast cancer survivors did one year of resistance training versus placebo control, and those who gained strength or lost weight showed reduced inflammatory markers like CRP.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 215 women · 52 weeks · 2018PostmenopausalCited 40 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal breast cancer survivors did 3 months of walking and resistance band training; the exercise group reported fewer hours of sleep per night versus control, mediated by inflammation and fatigue.
Mixed resultsRandomised trial · 46 women · 12 weeks · 2015PostmenopausalCited 47 timesPubMed
Patients with knee osteoarthritis, including postmenopausal women, did 6 weeks of isokinetic or aerobic exercise and reported less pain and more muscle strength, with no significant drop in inflammatory markers.
No difference foundRandomised trial · 42 women · 6 weeks · 2015Midlife womenCited 39 timesPubMed
In 72 postmenopausal women, 8 weeks of circuit resistance training at low or moderate intensity, with or without Zataria supplementation, reduced body fat and inflammatory markers RBP-4 and TNF-alpha.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 72 women · 8 weeks · 2019PostmenopausalCited 24 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women with hot flushes did 15 weeks of resistance training, which lowered blood levels of adiponectin, lipocalin-2 and resistin compared with sedentary controls.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 55 women · 15 weeks · 2020PostmenopausalCited 23 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women with metabolic syndrome features did 6 months of low-load circuit resistance or aerobic cycling training; both groups reduced body fat, blood pressure and cholesterol with no difference between methods.
No difference foundRandomised trial · 34 women · 24 weeks · 2017PostmenopausalCited 20 timesPubMed
Obese postmenopausal women did 12 weeks of resistance training, which increased a receptor linked to inflammation regulation and lowered monocyte count compared with controls.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 23 women · 12 weeks · 2011PostmenopausalCited 15 timesPubMed
In healthy older women, 8 weeks of resistance training combined with fish oil increased handgrip strength and lowered blood pressure and inflammatory markers more than resistance training with placebo.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 20 women · 8 weeks · 2023PostmenopausalCited 8 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
Postmenopausal women aged 65 to 80 who resistance trained for two years had lower cell-surface TLR4 than untrained women, but plasma inflammatory cytokine levels did not differ.
Mixed resultsControlled trial · 20 women · 2004PostmenopausalCited 100 timesPubMed
A review reported that aerobic and resistance exercise in postmenopausal women with osteoarthritis improved joint function, reduced pain and modulated inflammatory markers.
Reported an improvementSystematic review · 2026PostmenopausalPubMed
In 14 postmenopausal women doing a single bout of maximal eccentric leg exercise, those not using hormone therapy showed greater muscle damage markers than those using hormone therapy.
Mixed resultsControlled trial · 14 women · 2009PostmenopausalCited 81 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women did lower-load or higher-load resistance training; lower-load training gave slightly greater leg lean mass gains, with similar strength and inflammatory marker changes.
No difference foundRandomised trial · 29 women · 2022PostmenopausalCited 4 timesPubMed
Older postmenopausal women did elastic band resistance training with or without seawater supplement for 32 weeks, and both groups reported lower systolic blood pressure, with inflammation reduced in the seawater group.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 93 women · 32 weeks · 2024PostmenopausalCited 2 timesPubMed
Sedentary postmenopausal women did a 1-year elastic band resistance training program and showed reduced weight, waist circumference, cholesterol, and inflammation compared to controls.
Reported an improvementControlled trial · 38 women · 52 weeks · 2018PostmenopausalCited 31 timesPubMed
Sedentary overweight postmenopausal women did resistance training 1, 2 or 3 days weekly for 16 weeks; strength and muscle mass improved in all groups, but only 3 days weekly prevented rises in glucose and CRP.
Mixed resultsControlled trial · 30 women · 16 weeks · 2014PostmenopausalCited 33 timesPubMed
In a crossover trial, 13 trained postmenopausal women did high load and low load resistance exercise sessions, both altering circulating monocyte immune marker expression without differing between loads.
Mixed resultsRandomised trial · 13 women · 2026PostmenopausalCited 1 timesPubMed
In 40 postmenopausal women, 12 weeks of whole-body resistance training at either lower or higher load improved adiponectin, body fat, muscle strength and walking performance similarly.
Reported an improvementControlled trial · 40 women · 12 weeks · 2021PostmenopausalCited 15 timesPubMed
In middle-aged women, a single session of resistance exercise or intense spinning both increased oxidative stress markers and temporarily lowered immune cell counts after exercise.
Reported a worseningControlled trial · 34 women · 2012Midlife womenCited 16 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women with overweight or obesity did 16 weeks of resistance training and/or DHA supplementation, with muscle quality improving more with resistance training and cardiometabolic markers improving more with DHA.
Mixed resultsRandomised trial · 16 weeks · 2025PostmenopausalCited 1 timesPubMed
In 23 sedentary middle-aged women, six weeks of resistance training combined with electrical stimulation reduced LDL and total cholesterol more than resistance training alone, with no difference in glucose or CRP.
No difference foundRandomised trial · 23 women · 6 weeks · 2026Midlife womenPubMed
Thirteen postmenopausal women performed high-load and low-load resistance exercise in a crossover trial; high-load training increased CD4+ T cells expressing HSP27 and IL-10 more than low-load training, researchers found.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 13 women · 2026PostmenopausalPubMed
24 physically active postmenopausal women did one resistance exercise session, which increased several inflammatory gene signals in muscle but not in blood.
Mixed resultsBefore-and-after study · 24 women · 2009PostmenopausalCited 78 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women with obesity who did 4 months of resistance training saw decreased body fat and increased strength and fitness, with smaller effects on cholesterol and no change in blood sugar control.
Reported an improvementControlled trial · 51 women · 16 weeks · 2024PostmenopausalCited 2 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal breast cancer survivors did 16 weeks of whole-body resistance training and showed increased muscle strength, reduced fatigue, improved quality of life, and lower inflammatory markers.
Reported an improvementBefore-and-after study · 11 women · 16 weeks · 2018PostmenopausalCited 40 timesPubMed
In 48 postmenopausal women with overweight or obesity, 12 weeks of strength training 3 times weekly lowered CRP and showed mixed effects on TNF-alpha, IL-6 and adiponectin versus a daily activity group.
Mixed resultsControlled trial · 48 women · 12 weeks · 2025PostmenopausalCited 1 timesPubMed
In 35 postmenopausal women aged around 63, 16 weeks of periodized resistance training increased maximal strength and reduced inflammatory markers like interleukin-6, leptin and resistin.
Reported an improvementOther · 35 women · 16 weeks · 2009PostmenopausalCited 86 timesPubMed
Fourteen postmenopausal breast cancer survivors on tamoxifen did 12 weeks of resistance training then 12 weeks of detraining, with fat mass decreasing and muscle strength and cholesterol improving after training.
Mixed resultsOther · 14 women · 12 weeks · 2021PostmenopausalCited 12 timesPubMed
This review reported that resistance training in postmenopausal women appears to improve body composition and may influence adipokines such as leptin, adiponectin and resistin.
Direction not statedOther · 2022PostmenopausalCited 4 timesPubMed