Healthy Menopause Weight Management Linked to Low-Insulinemic, Planetary Diets: JAMA

A new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that menopausal women who followed low-insulinemic and planetary health diets achieved better weight management. These diets emphasized nuts, legumes, fruits, vegetables, and whole grains while limiting red and processed meats, sodium, potatoes, and French fries.

Menopause-related weight gain is common and can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and other chronic conditions. The findings suggest that adopting healthier dietary habits during midlife may play an important role in preventing obesity and improving long-term health outcomes.

This research analyzed data from more than 38,000 women in the long-running Nurses’ Health Study II discovered that dietary patterns focused on reducing insulin response and promoting sustainable eating were the most effective for managing weight during the menopausal transition.

The prospective cohort study tracked 38,283 women over a 12-year period surrounding menopause between 1989 and 2019. The participants with average age was 45.6 years at the start of the study, completed detailed food frequency questionnaires every 4 years. This research compared several popular dietary patterns, including the Mediterranean diet, DASH diet, low-carbohydrate diets, plant-based diets, and the Planetary Health Diet Index (PHDI).

The findings revealed that women gained an average of 0.8 kilograms annually during menopause which is associated with hormonal shifts and metabolic changes. 

The strongest association with reduced weight gain came from diets designed to lower insulin stimulation, known as reverse empirical dietary index for hyperinsulinemia (reverse EDIH). Women in the highest adherence group experienced an average reduction of 0.28 kilograms per year in weight gain when compared to those in the lowest group.

When examining the obesity risk, the PHDI showed that the women closely following this eating pattern had a 54% lower risk of developing obesity. Reverse EDIH diets also significantly lowered obesity risk by nearly half.

The diets associated with greater weight gain tended to include higher amounts of red and processed meats, sodium, French fries, and heavily processed foods. In contrast, the healthiest dietary patterns emphasized nuts, legumes, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, vegetable proteins, and unsaturated fats.

Overall, these findings suggest that the diets low in red and processed meats and rich in plant-based foods may offer an effective strategy for optimizing weight management during the menopausal transition.

Source:

Xia, T., Haslam, D. E., Eliassen, A. H., Manson, J. E., Sun, Q., Willett, W. C., Bhupathiraju, S. N., Zhang, C., & Hu, F. B. (2026). Optimal dietary patterns for lower weight gain and risk of obesity surrounding menopause. JAMA Network Open, 9(5), e2613102. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2026.13102