In the authors' words
“Across the 2-year period, increases in physical activity (PA) and self-efficacy and reductions in body mass index (BMI) were associated with improved subdomain self-perceptions relative to physical condition, and reductions in BMI were associated with improved subdomain self-perceptions relative to physical condition and body attractiveness.”
What was measured
- Mood Reported an improvement
- Body fat and weight Reported an improvement
About the study
- Type
- Cohort study
- Who took part
- Midlife women
- How many
- 143
- How long
- 104 weeks
- Exercise
- General physical activity
- Cited
- 21 times, per Europe PMC
- PubMed ID
- 21282842
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.
Similar studies
- A meta-analysis of 11 trials found low to moderate intensity programmed exercise for 12 weeks to a year reduced depressive symptoms in midlife and older women, with less insomnia reported secondarily.
- A meta-analysis of ten RCTs in midlife and older women found mid-term exercise programs of 12 to 16 weeks reduced mild to moderate anxiety symptoms, but longer programs of 6 to 14 months did not.
- A meta-analysis of 21 randomized trials with 2020 women found physical activity reduced depressive and anxiety symptoms during the menopausal transition and menopause, regardless of exercise intensity.
- A meta-analysis of 7 RCTs found programmed exercise for 3 to 4 months lowered insulin levels, HOMA-IR, BMI and body fat in postmenopausal women, while longer programs mainly reduced waist circumference.