Two people walking on a sunny day
Two people walking on a sunny day
The casual walks, household chores, and light exercise that make up most women’s daily routines aren’t enough to protect bones during menopause, according to Finnish researchers who tracked bone changes during this critical transition.
As spring arrives in the northern hemisphere, many women over 45 may be resuming outdoor activities after winter. But a new study from the University of Jyväskylä suggests that such routine movement, while beneficial for general health, fails to prevent the accelerated bone weakening that occurs as estrogen levels drop.
The research tracked nearly 200 women through their menopausal transition, using accelerometers to measure the number and intensity of bone-loading impacts they experienced during everyday life, while also monitoring changes in bone strength at several key locations.
What they discovered challenges conventional wisdom about physical activity and bone health during this life stage. While previous studies have shown that bone-loading exercise can slow age-related bone weakening, the Finnish team found no evidence that everyday activity – even when it included moderate impacts – could slow the hormone-driven bone loss specific to menopause.
“We observed that high-intensity impacts were rare in everyday life,” Suominen noted. This scarcity likely explains why the bone benefits typically associated with physical activity didn’t materialize during the menopausal transition.
The research followed 189 perimenopausal women aged 47 to 55 for an average of 15 months, until they reached postmenopause. Throughout this period, sophisticated imaging techniques measured changes in bone mineral density and structural properties at the femoral neck (hip), femoral shaft (thigh bone), and tibial shaft (shin bone).
Results showed consistent decreases in bone strength at all measured sites, despite variations in participants’ everyday physical activity. While moderate and high-intensity impacts were positively associated with stronger bones in general, they didn’t prevent the menopausal decline.
For the millions of women currently approaching or experiencing menopause, these findings emphasize the need for more targeted exercise interventions. Standard public health recommendations for daily activity may not address the specific skeletal challenges of the menopausal transition.
The study also highlights a troubling reality – the kind of high-impact activities that might help protect bones are exceedingly rare in most women’s daily routines. Even among this relatively active study population, participants registered very few bone-strengthening impacts during their everyday activities.
These findings emerge against a backdrop of rising osteoporosis rates globally. According to the International Osteoporosis Foundation, one in three women over age 50 will experience osteoporotic fractures in their lifetime, with menopause being a primary trigger for accelerated bone loss.
The research is part of the larger ERMA study led by Associate Professor Eija Laakkonen and funded by the Academy of Finland. The team employed advanced technology to monitor participants, including accelerometers to count daily impacts, dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry to measure hip bone density, and computed tomography to assess structural bone properties.
For women navigating menopause now, the researchers suggest more specialized exercise approaches may be necessary. “Future studies should also investigate whether more targeted bone-loading exercise can slow the accelerated bone weakening during menopause,” says Suominen.
As bone health experts continue exploring optimal exercise protocols for menopausal women, the study serves as both a reality check and a call to action for more effective interventions during this critical life transition.
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