Menopause: How exercise can combat risk of heart and metabolic diseases

The menopause affects all women differently – and each person’s experience is unique. While some women view menopause as a new lease of life, others can experience a host of new symptoms and changes to their body. Many of these changes can have an effect on health, too – even increasing a woman’s risk of developing certain health conditions.

One example is a woman’s risk of developing cardiometabolic diseases, which can increase after the menopause. Cardiometabolic disease refers to a group of common chronic conditions that affect the heart, blood vessels and metabolic system. These include cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and associated risk factors (such as high blood pressure).

Prior to the menopause, women are seen to have a lower prevalence of cardiometabolic disease when compared to men. However, that risk advantage reduces after the menopause. While there are many reasons for this such as age, the hormonal changes that accompany the menopause is also a key factor.

During the menopause, several key hormones – such as oestrogen, progesterone and testosterone – undergo significant changes. These hormonal changes can cause various menopause symptoms – such as hot flashes and mood swings. Importantly, they can also cause physiological changes which can alter the way the cardiovascular and metabolic systems function.

For example, hormone fluctuations...

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