Effects of resistance training (RT) on body composition, muscle strength and quality of life (QoL) in postmenopausal life

The QoL of postmenopausal women may be compromised as a result of climacteric symptoms associated with psychosocial and cultural determinants. Regular physical activity can attenuate the symptoms of postmenopausal women regarding physical and behavioral changes, positively influencing QoL. This study aimed to assess QoL, in addition to morphofunctional variables, body composition and muscle strength, in postmenopausal women before and after 16 weeks of RT. The subjects were 32 healthy, non-active women who were not under hormone replacement therapy (HRT), classified as control group (CG, n = 16) and training group (TG, n = 16). RT was structured on the frequency of three times per week and intensity prescribed by a target zone of maximum repetition. The assessment of QoL was conducted by WHOQOL-Bref questionnaire (The WHOQOL Group, 1998). The results show that the RT promoted a significant increase in muscle strength indicators for leg press, bench press and curl, not to mention in the facets of energy (p = 0.025) in the physical domain and access to health services (p = 0.038) in the environmental domain, the pre- and post-intervention moments on the TG. However, QoL values remained the same for all evaluated domains, with higher values for the physical domain of the TG, but still lacking statistical relevance. It was concluded that the 16-week program of RT was not enough to influence the perception of QoL in postmenopausal women, despite significant changes in muscle strength and in the "energy" facet of the physical domain. We suggest further studies with an extended intervention time and an increased number of participants, considering the changes promoted by RT on the analyzed variables. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.