Does walking affect inflammation in menopause? What 16 studies found

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 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

In 34 men and postmenopausal women, 6 weeks of increased daily walking reduced triglycerides, while raisins and walking together lowered blood pressure and cholesterol, researchers reported.

Mixed resultsRandomised trial · 34 women · 6 weeks · 2008Midlife womenCited 55 timesPubMed

In postmenopausal women with obesity aged 68 to 72, 12 weeks of moderate intensity walking reduced weight, body fat and inflammatory markers CRP, IL-6 and TNF-alpha compared to controls.

Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 26 women · 12 weeks · 2023PostmenopausalCited 29 timesPubMed

Sedentary postmenopausal women did 16 weeks of low to moderate intensity treadmill walking, which lowered inflammatory cytokines and reproductive hormone levels compared with controls.

Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 28 women · 16 weeks · 2015PostmenopausalCited 34 timesPubMed

In postmenopausal women aged 50 to 80, 8 weeks of avenanthramide supplementation reduced inflammatory markers after downhill walking compared to a low-dose control group.

Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 16 women · 8 weeks · 2014PostmenopausalCited 37 timesPubMed

Twenty two postmenopausal women did two months of walking and cycling, and the exercise group showed increased pentraxin 3, HDL cholesterol, peak oxygen uptake and arterial compliance.

Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 22 women · 8 weeks · 2012PostmenopausalCited 35 timesPubMed

Premenopausal women did 8 weeks of moderate or brisk walking, and brisk walking increased fitness and reduced IL-6 compared with moderate walking and controls.

Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 30 women · 8 weeks · 2017OtherCited 6 timesPubMed

Overweight postmenopausal women added walking to a weight loss program and showed a 2% increase in femoral neck bone density versus weight loss alone, linked to reduced inflammatory markers.

Reported an improvementControlled trial · 86 women · 2009PostmenopausalCited 59 timesPubMed

A 10-week intermittent walking programme in 36 sedentary postmenopausal women with obesity reported improved liver enzymes, lower CRP, reduced body fat and waist size, and higher aerobic capacity.

Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 36 women · 10 weeks · 2026Early postmenopausalCited 2 timesPubMed

Sedentary postmenopausal women did 13 weeks of moderate walking training; it lowered inflammatory TNF-alpha and cortisol/DHEA-S ratio and reduced cardiovascular measures regardless of ACE gene type.

Reported an improvementControlled trial · 36 women · 13 weeks · 2013PostmenopausalCited 27 timesPubMed

Overweight premenopausal and postmenopausal women did a 16-week brisk walking program, which lowered glucose area under the curve but did not improve the overall cardiometabolic risk profile.

Mixed resultsControlled trial · 30 women · 16 weeks · 2013Midlife womenCited 15 timesPubMed

In 36 postmenopausal women with obesity, 10 weeks of moderate-intensity interval walking training modestly reduced waist size and body fat, and improved kidney and inflammation markers versus controls.

Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 36 women · 10 weeks · 2026PostmenopausalPubMed

Twenty postmenopausal women at risk for heart disease did a 2 week diet and daily walking program and showed reduced BMI, insulin, cholesterol, and some inflammatory markers.

Mixed resultsBefore-and-after study · 20 women · 2 weeks · 2004PostmenopausalCited 82 timesPubMed

Thirty-two postmenopausal women did three months of moderate walking training and researchers found increased DHEA-S and decreased TNF-alpha and cortisol to DHEA-S ratio.

Reported an improvementBefore-and-after study · 32 women · 12 weeks · 2013PostmenopausalCited 26 timesPubMed

In 12 sedentary postmenopausal women, a single 30 minute brisk walk at moderate or vigorous intensity lowered fasting triglycerides the next morning but did not change CRP or fibrinogen.

No difference foundOther · 12 women · 2008PostmenopausalCited 13 timesPubMed