Effects of a Recreational Team Handball-based Programme on Health and Physical Fitness of Postmenopausal Women (H4HW)

University Institute of Maia

Status: Completed

Conditions: Menopause

Treatments: Other: Recreational team handball

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT05292261

CEFADE202019

Details and patient eligibility

About

This study aimed at determining the short- (16 weeks) and long-term (36 weeks) health and physical fitness effects and adherence of recreational team handball training for postmenopausal women without previous experience with the sport.

The investigators hypothesized that short-term recreational team handball training would result in positive health and physical fitness adaptations and that the health and physical fitness improvements achieved after the first 16 weeks would be maintained or further improved at the long-term. Moreover, the investigators also hypothesized that the adherence to this exercise mode would be maintained throughout the 36 weeks (long-term) compared to the first 16 weeks (short-term).

Enrollment: 80 patients

Sex: Female

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Inactive postmenopausal women aged +55 years or younger if with menopause for at least 3 years

Exclusion criteria

• Any medical contraindications to perform moderate-to-vigorous physical activity

Trial design

Primary purpose: Prevention

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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80 participants in 2 patient groups

Team handball group

Experimental group

Description:

The team handball group participants were encouraged to performed at least two out of three weekly supervised team handball training sessions of 60 min each, for 36 weeks.

Treatment:

Other: Recreational team handball

Control group

No Intervention group

Description:

The control group participants were instructed to keep their regular daily physical activity for 36 weeks.