Evidence library · Mood

Does aerobic plus resistance affect mood in menopause? What 14 studies found

Studies of aerobic plus resistance in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women that measured mood. 12 reported an improvement and 0 found no difference against the comparison group.

  1. A meta-analysis of 26 RCTs in postmenopausal women found exercise reduced depression, with mind-body exercise ranked most effective, and also improved anxiety.

    Reported an improvementMeta-analysis · 2,170 participants pooled · 2024PostmenopausalCited 12 timesPubMed

  2. A network meta-analysis of 33 RCTs in postmenopausal women found resistance, mind-body, aerobic, and combined exercise all reduced depressive symptoms, with resistance and mind-body exercise ranking highest.

    Reported an improvementMeta-analysis · 2,607 participants pooled · 2025PostmenopausalCited 2 timesPubMed

  3. A meta-analysis of 29 RCTs in 2071 women with breast cancer found combined aerobic and resistance training improved fitness, fatigue and quality of life, with smaller benefits in postmenopausal women.

    Mixed resultsMeta-analysis · 2,071 participants pooled · 2026Midlife womenCited 2 timesPubMed

  4. A meta-analysis of 23 trials in people with osteoporosis, 95 percent female with an average age of 67, found exercise such as resistance training, balance training and Pilates improved mental health, quality of life and pain.

    Reported an improvementMeta-analysis · 2,120 participants pooled · 19 weeks · 2026PostmenopausalCited 1 timesPubMed

  5. A network meta-analysis of 23 trials in postmenopausal women found exercise generally improved anxiety and depression more than control, with mind-body training ranking most favorably.

    Reported an improvementMeta-analysis · 2,298 participants pooled · 2026PostmenopausalPubMed

  6. Postmenopausal women doing 12 weeks of combined aerobic and resistance training outdoors reported better mood responses and higher adherence than those training indoors.

    Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 23 women · 12 weeks · 2015PostmenopausalCited 43 timesPubMed

  7. In 60 postmenopausal women aged 60 to 70 with anxiety and depression, a 6 month mixed exercise programme with music improved depression and anxiety scores compared to no treatment.

    Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 60 women · 26 weeks · 2012PostmenopausalCited 32 timesPubMed

  8. In 112 women aged 45 to 60, a 16-week supervised multicomponent exercise program reduced menopause-related symptom and vasomotor symptom scores more than counseling alone.

    Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 112 women · 16 weeks · 2022Midlife womenCited 16 timesPubMed

  9. A 16 week supervised aerobic plus resistance exercise program in 150 middle-aged women improved positive affect and reduced emotional distress compared with a counseling group.

    Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 111 women · 16 weeks · 2021Midlife womenCited 11 timesPubMed

  10. Previously sedentary postmenopausal women aged 45 to 64 who completed a 20-week exercise plus health promotion program reported improved quality of life, mental well-being, weight, fitness and flexibility versus controls, sustained to 12 months.

    Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 20 weeks · 2017PostmenopausalCited 16 timesPubMed

  11. Previously sedentary postmenopausal women who completed a supervised 20-week multicomponent exercise program showed improved quality of life, mental well-being, weight, fitness and flexibility, maintained through 12-month follow-up.

    Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 20 weeks · 2017PostmenopausalCited 15 timesPubMed

  12. Postmenopausal women did 16 weeks of jazz dance or concurrent aerobic and resistance training; both reduced anxiety, depression and stress, with some differences in timing and mood domains.

    Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 70 women · 16 weeks · 2025PostmenopausalCited 4 timesPubMed

  13. In 66 early postmenopausal women, eight weeks of combined aerobic and resistance training, delivered in person or via app, reduced menopausal symptoms, fatigue, and improved sleep versus education alone.

    Mixed resultsRandomised trial · 66 women · 8 weeks · 2026Early postmenopausalPubMed

  14. 22 menopausal women completed a 12-week workplace exercise programme of body conditioning, Zumba Gold, Pilates and HIIT, with authors reporting favourable changes in body fat, fitness, menopause symptoms and mental health.

    Reported an improvementBefore-and-after study · 22 women · 12 weeks · 2026Midlife womenPubMed

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.

Other exercise types and mood