Clinical trial · Exercise · 22 Oct 2026
In 66 women ages 45 to 60, eight weeks of combined exercise cut menopause symptom scores in person and in an app
Source: BMC Women's Health
What the research found
Study (randomized trial). Investigators report in BMC Women's Health (2026; 26: 297; DOI 10.1186/s12905-026-04457-4), published 25 April 2026. Sixty-six early postmenopausal women ages 45 to 60 were randomized to eight weeks of the same home program delivered face to face (22), through a mobile app (22), or to education only (22). The program was three days a week and mixed walking, resistance work, core work, and balance. Versus education only, menopause symptom scores fell more with face-to-face coaching (Cohen's d minus 1.16) and with the app (d minus 0.76). The gap between the two exercise arms was negligible to small. The paper also reports modest gains in muscle mass and predicted aerobic capacity. It does not include adherence data for the app, which limits that comparison. The upper age is 60, so the older-age tag only just applies. Symptom scores are not a disease treatment. Not medical advice.
Evidence level: Clinical trial. This is among the stronger kinds of evidence, but one study rarely settles a question.
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