Exercise may reverse negative health effects of menopause

Exercise may obviate the negative health effects of menopause, according to a recent study.

The study published in the journal European Journal of Applied Physiology has found that indulging in three-times-a-week of exercise in form of sprinting for over two months improves cardiovascular function and aerobic fitness in postmenopausal women who are overweight.

Menopause is the process through which a woman ceases to be fertile or menstruate. It is accompanied by decreased aerobic fitness and increased risk of cardiovascular disease. For the majority of menopausal women who are overweight and don't exercise, menopause is accompanied by a decrease in muscle mass and aerobic fitness and an increase in fat mass, which contributes to the increased rates of type 2 diabetes in postmenopausal women.

Yati Boutcher, School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia, and colleagues conducted the study to determine the effect of an 8-week sprint interval training (SIT) program on the cardiovascular function and aerobic fitness of overweight postmenopausal women.

SIT is a time-efficient intervention for improving cardiovascular function and aerobic fitness of young adults. In this study, the SIT program involved three SIT sessions a week for 8 weeks. Each session consisted of 20 min of 8-s sprints and 12 s of light pedaling.

The study included thirty overweight postmenopausal women. 15 of them were randomized to exercise and 15 formed the control group. Participants also completed 8 min of light aerobic cycle exercise, before and after the SIT intervention. Cardiovascular function including heart rate, stroke volume (SV), and diastolic filling time (DFT) was assessed before and after the intervention and during 8 min of light aerobic exercise. Estimated maximal oxygen uptake (V˙O2maxV˙O2max) was also assessed.

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Key findings:

• Resting SV was increased from pre- (77.5 ± 17.0 mL) to post-SIT (81.3 ± 17.0 mL), whereas SV during 8 min of light aerobic exercise was increased, from pre- (97.8 ± 1.6 mL) to post-test (103.5 ± 17.8 mL).


• Resting DFT was increased, at pre- (333.4 ± 94.4 mL) to post-SIT (357.4 ± 88.2 mL), whereas DFT during 8 min of aerobic exercise was increased, from pre- (480.1 ± 99.5 mL) to posttest (527.2 ± 123.0 mL).


• Predicted V˙O2maxV˙O2max was increased, from pre- (19.5 ± 5.87 mL kg⁻¹ min⁻¹) to post-SIT (21.4 ± 7.02 mL kg⁻¹ min⁻¹).

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Women who participated in the exercise intervention group added 0.7 kg of muscle to their legs and trunk and lost 0.4 kg of body fat. They increased their aerobic fitness by 12%.

“The increase in muscle mass after 8 hours of sprinting equates to an 86-gram gain per hour of sprint exercise,” said Boutcher, “This compares favourably to the effect of weight training, which in postmenopausal women has typically shown a 40g gain in muscle mass per hour.”

For detailed study log on to https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-019-04087-9