title: Long-term exercise training and soy isoflavones to improve quality of life and climacteric symptoms.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To verify the efficacy of phytoestrogen supplementation combined with aerobic and resistance training on the improvement of climacteric symptoms and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in postmenopausal women.
  
  
  METHODS
  From a pool of women who had participated in a 1-year intervention study and were randomly assigned to either exercise + phytoestrogen (EX + PHY) or exercise + placebo (EX + PL), a total of 31 healthy but overweight women (mean age 59.2 ± 4.8 years, body mass index 29.1 ± 3.5 kg/m2) finished the study (EX + PHY, n = 15; EX + PL, n = 16). All the following variables were measured before, after 6 months and after 12 months of intervention: body composition (fat and lean body mass, DXA), HRQoL (SF-36 questionnaire: physical and mental component summaries and subscales; and the 10-item Perceived Stress Scale questionnaire), climacteric symptoms (Kupperman Index questionnaire).
  
  
  RESULTS
  After 1 year of intervention, physical functioning (p = 0.003), role-emotional (p = 0.031), vitality (p = 0.007), and global health (p < 0.001) were significantly and similarly increased in both groups. Regarding climacteric symptoms, an improvement in the Kupperman index total score (p = 0.015) was observed.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results demonstrate that adding phytoestrogens to exercise training does not provide the additive effect for HRQoL in postmenopausal and overweight women. Moreover, exercise and phytoestrogen may interfere in the improvement of climacteric symptoms in the long term.
authors.affiliation: a Faculty of Physical Activity Sciences , University of Sherbrooke , Sherbrooke , Quebec , Canada.|b Research Aging Centre , CIUSSS de l'Estrie CHUS , Sherbrooke , Quebec , Canada.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fontvieille
authors.affiliation: a Faculty of Physical Activity Sciences , University of Sherbrooke , Sherbrooke , Quebec , Canada.|b Research Aging Centre , CIUSSS de l'Estrie CHUS , Sherbrooke , Quebec , Canada.
authors.forename: I J
authors.initials: IJ
authors.lastname: Dionne
authors.affiliation: a Faculty of Physical Activity Sciences , University of Sherbrooke , Sherbrooke , Quebec , Canada.|b Research Aging Centre , CIUSSS de l'Estrie CHUS , Sherbrooke , Quebec , Canada.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Riesco
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000886:Anthropometry; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D019584:Hot Flashes / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007529:Isoflavones / Q000008:administration & dosage; D008593:Menopause / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D048789:Phytoestrogens / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D011788:Quality of Life; D055070:Resistance Training; D013025:Glycine max; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D007529:Isoflavones; D048789:Phytoestrogens
keywords: Phytoestrogens; aerobic training; menopause; quality of life; resistance training; soy isoflavones