Exercise and Metabolic Health among Women

Dear Colleagues,

Menopause may contribute to metabolic dysfunction in women. As opposed to andropause, which occurs in less than 10% of middle-aged men, changes in the sex hormone environment during the menopause transition could be a strong determinant of metabolic dysfunction in women. Cross-sectional studies have reported that lean mass is lower in postmenopausal compared to premenopausal women. However, it is unknown whether metabolic parameters including mitochondrial function in skeletal muscle and microbiome differ across the stages of the menopausal transition, specifically during the early- to late-perimenopausal years.

The decline in estradiol is believed to be the most important factor in menopause-related metabolic dysfunction. However, estrogen-based hormone replacement therapy (HRT) studies that investigated lean body and skeletal muscle mass in postmenopausal women have provided mixed results. Due to the potential cardiovascular harms of HRT, exercise training has been believed to be one of the safest strategies to maintain metabolic function in skeletal muscle and reduce accumulative fat mass in postmenopausal women. To find the optimal strategies to combat the menopause-associated metabolic dysfunction, there has been a great deal of research combining exercise training and diet supplementation.

This Special Issue will collate recent high-quality research in the field of metabolism in a variety of organs including skeletal muscle, adipose tissue, and microbiome, focusing on the menopause-specific mechanisms by which hormones and potential therapeutics alter metabolic and endocrine changes. All research articles and reviews in clinical and preclinical work are welcome.

Dr. Young-Min Park
Guest Editor

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• menopause
• ovariectomy
• exercise training
• hormone replacement therapy
• estrogen
• sarcopenia
• microbiome
• mitochondria
• aerobic capacity
• metabolism
• diet and vitamin supplementation