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Life sciences · Journal article
American Journal of Physiology-regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology · August 9, 2026
Early or partial results. Treat as a signal, not a conclusion.
In 36 postmenopausal women with overweight/obesity, menopausal duration and relative skeletal muscle index were identified as exploratory correlates of reduced lipid oxidation (metabolic inflexibility) during slow treadmill walking. This observational finding is hypothesis-generating and requires prospective validation before clinical or mechanistic interpretation.
Cross-sectional observational study. Postmenopausal women aged 64 ± 7 years with overweight/obesity (BMI 29.5 ± 4.9 kg/m²); setting not specified.. Intervention: Treadmill walking at 0.9 m/s, 0% grade (single session). n = 36.
ΔFATox correlated with menopausal duration (rs = 0.478, P = 0.004) and RSMI (r = 0.531, P = 0.001) Menopausal duration, RSMI, and recovery V̇O₂ mean response time explained 53.4% of ΔFATox variance (adjusted r² = 0.534, P < 0.001) ΔCHOox correlated with O₂ deficit (rs = 0.500, P = 0.002); menopausal duration, visceral adipose tissue, and O₂ deficit explained 37.1% of variance (adjusted r² = 0.371, P < 0.001)
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These exploratory findings suggest menopausal duration and muscle mass may be relevant to metabolic inflexibility during walking in postmenopausal women. However, the small sample, cross-sectional design, and lack of comparison group mean results cannot yet guide clinical practice or intervention development without prospective replication.
Small observational study with exploratory analysis identifying correlates of metabolic substrate use during walking; no intervention, no comparator group, and results require confirmation in larger cohorts.
As stated by the source record.
Quoted from the source exactly as published.
These exploratory findings suggest menopausal duration and muscle mass may be relevant to metabolic inflexibility during walking in postmenopausal women. However, the small sample, cross-sectional design, and lack of comparison group mean results cannot yet guide clinical practice or intervention development without prospective replication.
Graded across the dimensions that decide whether you should act, each from what the source actually supports. There is no single score, and where a dimension was not assessed it says so.
Menopause predisposes a diminished capacity to alter oxidative substrate during exercise - a risk factor for cardiometabolic diseases (CMD). Since walking behavior influences CMD, identifying factors associated with substrate use during walking may inform strategies to attenuate risk. This study assessed changes in lipid (ΔFATox) and carbohydrate (ΔCHOox) oxidation during walking and identified physiological predictors. Methods: Thirty-six women (64 ± 7 y; body mass index [BMI]: 29.5 ± 4.9 kg/m 2 ) completed a treadmill task (0.9 m/s, 0% grade) with indirect calorimetry to quantify oxygen uptake (V̇O 2 ) kinetics, ΔFATox, and ΔCHOox. Exercise capacity was assessed via a 6 min walk test. Body composition, including relative skeletal muscle index (RSMI), was assessed using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Results: ΔFATox was correlated with age ( r = -0.465, P = 0.004), menopausal duration ( r s = 0.478, P = 0.004), BMI ( r s = 0.398, P = 0.028), RSMI ( r = 0.531, P = 0.001), and excessive postexercise V̇O 2 ( r s = 0.430, P = 0.009). ΔCHOox was correlated with O 2 deficit ( r s = 0.500, P = 0.002). Menopausal duration, RSMI, and recovery V̇O 2 mean response time explained the most variance in ΔFATox (adjusted r 2 = 0.534, P < 0.001). Menopausal duration, visceral adipose tissue mass, and O 2 deficit explained the most variance in ΔCHOox (adjusted r, 2 = 0.371, P < 0.001). Conclusion: Age and menopausal duration were associated with reduced ΔFATox during walking. Menopausal duration was the strongest exploratory predictor of metabolic inflexibility. RSMI outperformed exercise capacity and V̇O 2 uptake kinetics in predicting ΔFATox during walking.
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