Dietary patterns and their associations with body composition, cardiometabolic and bone health in postmenopausal...

Background: Menopause, occurring typically between ages 45 and 55, is associated with various physical and psychological symptoms and an increased risk of cardiometabolic diseases, osteoporosis and obesity. Purpose and Research Design: This review examines the impact of healthy dietary patterns in postmenopausal women, focussing on recent literature on the Mediterranean Diet, Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH), the Portfolio diet and other national healthy eating guidelines.Results: Evidence suggests that adhering to one of these healthy dietary patterns can reduce the risk of cardiometabolic diseases and may benefit body composition and bone health.Conclusions: Although promising, the current evidence, primarily from observational studies, requires more extensive and long-term intervention trials to establish definite conclusions. This review underscores the importance of dietary choices in supporting postmenopausal health and highlights the need for comprehensive dietary strategies tailored to regional eating habits.