Effects of Aerobic Training on Physical Fitness, Balance, Fatigue, and Quality of Life in Postmenopausal Women: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Introduction: Menopause is associated with physiological changes that lead to reduced fitness, impaired balance, increased fatigue, and diminished quality of life. Aerobic exercise represents a safe, non-pharmacological intervention to counteract these effects. Objective: To evaluate the effect of a six-week aerobic exercise on fitness, balance, fatigue, and quality of life in postmenopausal women. Methods: A randomized controlled trial was conducted with 100 postmenopausal women aged 45–60 years randomly to experimental (n=50) and control (n=50) groups. The experimental group received structured aerobic exercise (Progressive Step Marching Exercise) three times weekly for six weeks. Outcome measures included the 30-second chair stand test, seated medicine ball throw test, sit and reach test, berg balance scale (BBS), Fatigue severity scale (FSS), and Menopause-specific quality of life questionnaire (MENQOL). Assessments were conducted at baseline, 3 weeks, and 6 weeks. Results: At 6 weeks, the experimental group demonstrated statistically significant improvements compared to the control group in all fitness parameters (p<0.05) and fatigue reduction (p=0.026). The physical domain of MENQOL also improved significantly (p=0.003), while total quality of life scores showed no significant difference between groups (p=0.248). Conclusion: Aerobic exercise effectively enhances physical fitness, balance, and reduces fatigue in postmenopausal women. While domain-specific quality of life improvements was observed, overall quality of life may require longer intervention duration.