News
Low insulin diet and avoiding four food groups may prevent menopause weight gain
A low-insulin diet may help curb menopause weight gain, with researchers suggesting that avoiding four food groups could help women avoid gaining weight.
The findings suggest women who ate more vegetables and avoided red and processed meats, potatoes, salty foods and ultra-processed foods were most likely to prevent weight gain during menopause.
Weight gain and changes in body shape are common during perimenopause and menopause.
At least 50 per cent of women experience weight gain during this stage, according to the British Menopause Society.
Evidence suggests women gain an average of about 1.5kg a year during menopause, with average weight gain reaching 10kg by the time menopause is reached.
New research published in JAMA Network Open has identified dietary patterns linked to lower midlife weight gain and obesity during menopause.
The study analysed data from 38,283 women over a 12-year period, covering six years before and six years after menopause.
It used information from the Nurses’ Health Study II, a long-running US study into factors affecting women’s health between 1989 and 2019.
The NHS advises that eating well and exercising can help with menopause symptoms.
It also recommends calcium-rich foods, such as milk, yoghurt and kale, to support bone health.
Researchers assessed participants’ diets every four years and recorded changes in body weight each year.
They examined 11 dietary patterns, including plant-based diets, Mediterranean diets, low-carbohydrate diets and ultra-processed food intake, to see which were linked to less weight gain during menopause.
A low-insulinaemic diet focuses on foods that help keep insulin levels steadier. Insulin is a hormone that helps control blood sugar, and repeated spikes may encourage the body to store more fat.
The study found diets higher in natural, fibre-rich foods and lower in carbohydrates and sugary foods were linked to better weight control.
Researchers said red and processed meats, French fries and potatoes, high-sodium foods and ultra-processed foods were most strongly linked to insulin spikes and menopausal weight gain.
Red and processed meats, along with poultry, were positively associated with weight gain.
French fries were found to trigger hormonal signals that can encourage fat storage.
Researchers also found that higher sodium intake was associated with the greatest weight gain among participants.
Ultra-processed foods and sugary juices were also linked to a higher risk of obesity.
The researchers concluded that avoiding these foods and eating more nuts, legumes, wholegrain carbohydrates and vegetable proteins may help prevent obesity and support longer-term heart health in women.
Early birth may cut serious complications and stillbirth risk in high blood pressure pregnancies without increasing caesarean rates, a Cochrane review suggests.
Planned early birth after 34 weeks cut serious maternal complications by nearly half compared with watchful waiting, the findings suggest.
It also likely reduced the risk of stillbirth by about 75 per cent, although the authors said this should be interpreted with caution.
Catherine Cluver, senior author of the review and researcher at Stellenbosch University and Tygerberg Hospital, said: “These findings give clinicians and women clearer guidance about the timing of birth when high blood pressure develops in pregnancy.
“For women with pre-eclampsia in particular, the evidence supports offering planned early birth from 34 weeks, and no later than 37 weeks.”
This Cochrane review, led by King’s College London, pooled data from six randomised controlled trials involving 3,491 women.
The trials compared planned early birth after 34 weeks with watchful waiting in women with one or more hypertensive disorders of pregnancy.
Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, including pre-eclampsia, gestational hypertension and chronic hypertension, are the second leading cause of maternal death globally.
For women with pre-eclampsia, early birth remains the only definitive treatment, as the condition is driven by the placenta and will only resolve once it is delivered.
The trials took place in the Netherlands, UK, US, India and Zambia.
The review found high-certainty evidence that serious maternal complications were nearly halved in women who had planned early birth compared with those managed with watchful waiting.
The finding on stillbirth was based on moderate-certainty evidence and was driven by a single trial in India and Zambia, where stillbirth rates are higher. No stillbirths were recorded in the high-income country trials.
The review also found that planned early birth likely does not increase neonatal unit admission, although this finding was also based on moderate-certainty evidence.
The authors said the maternal benefit held across both high- and low-income settings, suggesting early birth reduces complications even when women are already receiving appropriate monitoring and care.
Alice Beardmore-Gray, lead author of the review and obstetrician at King’s College London, said: “Judging when to offer birth is the question that we battle with clinically every day.”
The authors added that in two of the trials, more than half the women allocated to watchful waiting ended up needing emergency birth before 37 weeks.
They typically gave birth just three to five days later than women allocated to planned early birth and often experienced more complications.
Beardmore-Gray said: “A common misconception is that by waiting longer, mum and baby are gaining more time, but often what you are doing is just delaying an inevitable emergency birth, when both may be in a worse condition.”
The review found high-certainty evidence of no increased risk of caesarean section associated with planned early birth.
Beardmore-Gray said: “That is the first question anyone asks when you offer them an early induction: won’t it increase my risk of a C-section?
“Being able to clearly answer no is a really important piece of information to give women when counselling them about the timing of their birth.”
The authors said the timing of birth should take into account the woman’s preferences and the severity of her condition.
They said these findings are consistent with and reinforce current international guidelines, which recommend that all women with pre-eclampsia should be offered planned early birth no later than 37 weeks.
Women with gestational hypertension or chronic hypertension without severe features may choose to continue with careful monitoring, with planned early birth considered from 39 weeks onwards.
Further research is needed on longer-term outcomes for infants born late preterm and on the long-term cardiovascular health of mothers affected by hypertensive disorders of pregnancy.
We are excited to reveal the three exceptional innovators shortlisted for the Brain & Mental Health Innovation Award at the Femtech World Awards 2026.
The award recognises groundbreaking work addressing the cognitive and emotional health challenges that uniquely and disproportionately affect women.
This award is sponsored by Women In Cloud, the global network of 120,000 women tech founders, executives, professionals and allies across 80 countries, united in their mission to make the tech ecosystem an inclusive force for change – and to unlock US$1 billion in new economic access by 2030.
The shortlisted entries will now be judged by a representative from Women In Cloud who will announce the winner at a virtual event on June 19.
Congratulations to the shortlist and thank you to everyone who entered or nominated.
Brain and Mental Health Innovation Shortlist
HealCycle is a clinical and social breakthrough targeting what founder Ananya Grover calls the “Silent Decade” – the years when women’s endocrine health and environmental stressors are routinely dismissed by traditional healthcare silos.
Under the clinical leadership of psychiatrist Dr. Aninda Sidhana, HealCycle monitors HPO-axis markers, addresses conditions like PMDD, and integrates an AI companion, Tara, built on the principle of Radical Empathy.
Backed by the WICCI National Women’s Mental Health Council and designed to meet WHO standards for gender-responsive care, HealCycle is replacing silence with science – from Delhi to the world.
Môr is reimagining cognitive wellbeing from the ground up with the first science-led, female-first nutritional system designed around how women’s brains actually work.
Grounded in compelling research – including findings from Weill Cornell Medicine showing accelerated metabolic brain decline during menopause transition – Môr’s patented AM/PM chrono-targeted architecture delivers the right ingredients at the right time: daytime mental clarity and stress resilience in the morning, nervous system recovery and sleep support in the evening.
With backing from Innovate UK and a clinical feasibility study in development, Môr is building for the invisible majority: cognitively depleted women who have been failed by a market that never built for them.
Véa is an AI-powered emotional operating system that builds a living cognitive profile of each user, helping women understand their thoughts, triggers and behavioural patterns through neuroscience-backed journalling.
Véa does not just record how women feel, it connects the dots across weeks, months and years to reveal the hidden architecture of their emotional world.
Having already analysed over 101,000 anonymised words journaled to identify 3,000+ specific cognitive distortions – such as ‘double-bind’ guilt and ‘catastrophising’ – Véa is closing the critical gender data gap in mental health.
By Sarah Bolt, Forth
Following recent approval from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, testosterone is set to become much more widely available to women in the UK.
Offering greater access to testosterone treatment through their GP, the move marks a significant shift in how menopause symptoms are recognised and treated.
However, despite the increased access, many women are still in the dark about the role testosterone plays.
As conversations around women’s health continue to evolve, testosterone is becoming an increasingly important part of the menopause discussion.
Already licensed in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, the UK becomes among only a handful of countries making testosterone more accessible for women.
The development marks a significant step forward in recognising the full impact hormonal changes can have during midlife and menopause and the benefits that taking testosterone can have.
Testosterone is often misunderstood, and more closely associated with men, but it also plays a vital role in women’s health.
From energy levels and cognitive function to mood and libido, its influence on the body is far-reaching.
Here are the eight things women need to know about testosterone:
1. Testosterone is a vital female hormone
Testosterone is essential for women.
Produced naturally in the ovaries and adrenal glands it supports a wide range of functions in women including maintaining libido, energy levels, mood, concentration and overall wellbeing.
It also contributes to muscle strength and bone health, both of which become increasingly important during later life.
For many women, low testosterone can leave them feeling a bit out of sorts, impacting confidence, memory, motivation and other areas of life.
Because symptoms are often gradual these are often dismissed as part of ageing or the pressures of life and juggling everything that comes with it.
2. Testosterone levels decline with age
Like oestrogen and progesterone, testosterone levels naturally decline as women get older, particularly during perimenopause and menopause.
Our research found that testosterone levels in women decline by more than 51 per cent with age.
These changes can have a significant impact on daily life, affecting everything from relationships and self-esteem to work performance and sleep quality.
Despite this, many women are unaware that low testosterone may be contributing to how they feel.
3. Signs of low testosterone can vary
Low testosterone symptoms show up differently for everyone. This is why diagnosis and treatment can sometimes be overlooked.
Common symptoms include fatigue, low energy, hot flushes, night sweats, thinning hair, dry skin, muscle weakness, weight gain, mood swings and difficulty concentrating.
Some women may also experience reduced confidence, lower motivation or a loss of interest in sex.
Because many of these symptoms overlap with menopause itself, it is important that women have access to informed conversations and personalised medical advice to determine whether testosterone could help.
4. Testosterone supports more than libido
One of the biggest misconceptions surrounding testosterone is that it is only linked to sex drive.
While testosterone can help improve libido, its benefits extend much further, helping to regulate energy, motivation, emotional wellbeing, muscle strength, bone density and much more.
For some women, restoring testosterone levels can contribute to feeling more energised, confident and mentally sharp again.
5. Testosterone can support cognitive function
One of the main struggles with menopause is brain fog and difficulties with memory and concentration.
Taking testosterone can help protect brain health by supporting communication between brain cells and increasing blood flow.
As awareness around the cognitive impact of menopause continues to grow, testosterone is increasingly being recognised as a tool that helps women better manage these symptoms.
6. Testosterone does not make women masculine
Many concerns around testosterone come from the misconception that it will cause women to develop masculine features.
However, when prescribed appropriately at the right dosage by a qualified healthcare professional, this is unlikely.
The aim of testosterone for women is to help restore hormones to a healthy female range, supporting wellbeing and symptom management.
7. Testosterone is not linked to an increased risk of breast cancer
Another common myth is that testosterone increases a woman’s risk of breast cancer. Current evidence does not support this.
Testosterone does not stimulate breast tissue growth and studies have not shown an increased risk of breast cancer linked to testosterone therapy in women.
In fact, some research has suggested a lower occurrence of breast cancer among women taking testosterone, although more long-term research is still needed in this area.
8. The benefits of testosterone can take time
Testosterone therapy tends to work gradually.
Many women will start to notice improvements in mood, motivation and energy levels within the first few months with the full benefits building over time.
Because testosterone has a cumulative effect, consistent use and regular medical monitoring is important.
Patience is key and ongoing support from healthcare professionals can help ensure treatment remains safe and effective.
Despite growing awareness around hormone replacement therapy, testosterone remains one of the lesser understood hormones.
Our own research shows that testosterone levels in women decline by more than 51 per cent with age with a debilitating impact for many.
Knowledge is power and it’s really important that women are aware of the role testosterone plays in their health, particularly in midlife, so they can see their GP armed with the information they need.
Hormones will fluctuate but hormone mapping is a great place to start and will give women a greater insight into what is happening in their bodies.
It’s imperative that women are able to advocate for themselves and having this information is crucial for this.
Making testosterone more accessible in midlife gives women another treatment option to consider beyond HRT, helping them to manage menopausal symptoms and improve their overall quality of life.
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