It's never too late: The impact of resistance training on strength and body composition in females across the lifespan - A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Eduard Isenmann, Stephan Geisler, Tim Havers et al.
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In 30 seconds
This systematic review and meta-analysis pooled 126 studies involving 4019 healthy women aged 18 years or older to assess resistance training effects on strength and body composition across the lifespan. Training was associated with substantial strength gains in both premenopausal women (standardized mean difference 1.50 [95% confidence interval: 1.28-1.73]) and postmenopausal women (standardized mean difference 1.46 [95% confidence interval: 1.26-1.67]); the difference between groups was not significant (p = 0.520). Functional mass increased and fat mass decreased, with no significant subgroup differences.
Key findings
- Strength improved in premenopausal women (standardized mean difference = 1.50 [95% confidence interval: 1.28-1.73]) and postmenopausal women (standardized mean difference = 1.46 [95% confidence interval: 1.26-1.67]).
- There was no significant difference in strength effects between premenopausal and postmenopausal women (p = 0.520).
- Functional mass increased (standardized mean difference = 0.27 [95% confidence interval: 0.18-0.35]) and fat mass decreased (standardized mean difference = 0.30 [95% confidence interval: 0.25-0.35]) in both groups.
- Meta-regressions found no association of outcomes with age, training duration, frequency, or total sessions (all p > 0.05).
Why it matters
Women have been underrepresented in resistance-training research, and guidance has often drawn mainly on studies in men. These pooled findings indicate that strength and body-composition benefits are seen across menopausal groups, supporting consideration of resistance training across adulthood rather than assuming markedly different effects by menopausal status.
What to keep in mind
The abstract does not report the range of study quality or provide details on heterogeneity, limiting assessment of how consistent the pooled effects were across studies.