Effect of 12-week fitness walking programme on sex hormone levels and risk factors for metabolic syndrome in postmenopausal women: A pilot study.

Background and aims: Postmenopausal women are at a heightened risk of developing metabolic syndrome and therefore require targeted interventions. This study investigated the effects of a 12-week fitness walking (FW) programme on risk factors for metabolic syndrome and sex hormone levels in postmenopausal women. Our study hypothesised that FW would reduce the risk of metabolic syndrome in this population, with correlated changes in sex hormone levels.

Methods and results: Postmenopausal women were randomly assigned to FW (n = 15, age: 60.87 ± 5.73 years, body mass index (BMI): 23.58 ± 2.88 kg m^-2) or control (CON) groups (n = 15, age: 60.40 ± 3.79 years, BMI: 24.97 ± 3.07 kg m^-2). The FW group engaged in a 12-week FW programme (60 min/session, five times/week, 50%-60 % VO₂max, aerobic training). The CON group maintained their usual lifestyle. After the intervention, the FW group exhibited decreased levels of triglycerides (TG), fasting blood glucose (FBG), systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP, P = 0.009) and waist circumference (WC), and increased high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C, P = 0.001). The CON group demonstrated increased TG (P = 0.001), FBG, SBP, DBP and WC, and decreased HDL-C. Sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) was negatively correlated with TG and SBP in the CON group pre- and post-intervention. Among all participants, there was a significant negative correlation between SHBG and TG, BMI, and WC pre-intervention; only TG remained significantly correlated with SHBG post-intervention.

Conclusion: A 12-week FW training programme effectively controlled metabolic syndrome risk factors in postmenopausal women, and a significant relationship between metabolic syndrome risk factors and sex hormone levels was observed.