A new study looked at 11 different diets. It wanted to know which ones helped women avoid weight gain during menopause. Two diets stood out. One was the Planetary Health Diet. The other was a diet that supports healthy insulin levels, called a low-insulinemic diet.
The study appeared in JAMA Network Open. It was led by Tong Xia, a researcher at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. She also works with Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
Weight gain is very common around menopause. But scientists hadn’t clearly shown which diets help the most. This study aimed to answer the question of which diets are most effective for weight management during menopause.
Researchers used data from the Nurses’ Health Study II. The Nurses’ Health Study II is a long-term study of nurses across the United States. It began in 1989. At that time, the women were between 25 and 42 years old. Every four years, they filled out food surveys. The surveys tracked what they ate and how their weight changed. Researchers focused on the six years before and after menopause. In total, they studied 38,283 women.
The results were clear. Women who followed the Planetary Health Diet or the low-insulinemic diet gained the least weight. They also had the lowest risk of obesity. The Planetary Health Diet was created by a group of scientists called the EAT-Lancet Commission. It’s designed to be healthy for people and gentler on the environment.
Xia explained what these two diets have in common. Both are low in red meat and processed meat. Both avoid potatoes and french fries. Both are low in sodium. Both are rich in nuts, fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.
Not all healthy diets performed the same way, though. The study also looked at the Mediterranean diet and the DASH diet, which stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. Both are well known for supporting excellent health. But they didn’t perform as well as the Planetary Health Diet or the low-insulinemic diet. Xia said the results show that small differences matter. Even diets considered healthy can vary in how much of certain foods they include.
The study covered many other diet types too. These included plant-based diets, both healthy and unhealthy versions. It included diets high in ultra-processed foods. It included diets known to raise insulin resistance or inflammation. It also included low-carbohydrate diets, which many people choose for weight loss. These also came in healthy and unhealthy forms.
One result surprised the researchers. The unhealthy plant-based diet was linked to slight weight loss. This diet includes less healthy plant foods, like french fries. Xia said the diet needs more research before drawing firm conclusions. She offered a possible reason. This diet tends to be low in protein. During menopause, women naturally lose muscle. Muscle is denser than fat. Low protein intake might speed up this muscle loss. That could explain the small drop in weight, even though the diet isn’t considered healthy overall.
“Women already lose more muscle, and the low protein intake may make this process quicker,” Xia said.
Xia became interested in this topic during her earlier research on pregnancy. She noticed that scientists paid little attention to what happens when fertility starts to decline. That gap led her to study menopause and diet more closely.
She said the next step could be a clinical trial. In such a trial, women entering menopause would follow a specific diet plan. Researchers would then track whether it helps them manage their weight. They would also look at whether it supports long-term health.
The study received funding from the National Institutes of Health. It was also supported by the Julie Wilcox Women’s Health and Nutrition Novel Research Fund.
