Culturally-Tailored Menopause Fitness Digital Tools

Co-Designing a Path Through Menopause: How Culturally-Tailored Digital Tools Can Boost Physical Activity

A new study published in BMC Public Health offers specific guidance for creating digital exercise programs that midlife women will actually use. Led by researchers from University College London, Liverpool John Moores University, and King Saud University, the research identifies cultural and practical barriers as the main obstacles to physical activity during menopause, not just a lack of willpower.

Why One-Size-Fits-All Exercise Advice Fails Midlife Women

The research team, including Ghada AlSwayied, Rosie Frost, and Fiona Hamilton, gathered 23 stakeholders in Saudi Arabia to design a mobile health (mHealth) intervention. The group included midlife women, healthcare providers, fitness trainers, policymakers, and an app developer. Their consensus highlights a global problem: standard public health exercise guidelines often fail to account for the lived realities of menopause. Women in this life stage juggle changing physiology, shifting priorities, and sociocultural expectations that can make gym-based or high-intensity workouts unrealistic. This mismatch between recommendation and reality results in low adherence worldwide.

For instance, while weight-bearing exercise is critical for counteracting menopause-accelerated bone loss, a woman experiencing joint pain, fatigue, or who lacks access to a women-only gym space needs a different starting point. The study found that generic fitness apps, which often emphasize weight loss or extreme performance, can feel alienating and irrelevant to women managing hot flashes, sleep disruption, or brain fog.

Empathetic Design: Self-Care Over Fitness Tracking

A central finding was the need to fundamentally reframe how physical activity is messaged. Participants strongly recommended moving away from language focused on calories burned or steps counted. Instead, they advocated for empathetic communication that positions movement as a form of self-care and a direct tool for managing menopause symptoms.

This approach aligns with the biological mechanisms at play. Regular physical activity helps regulate stress hormones like cortisol, which can influence symptoms like bloating and weight distribution. It also improves sleep quality, boosts mood through endorphin release, and maintains muscle mass, which supports metabolic rate and joint health. The stakeholders suggested educational modules within an app that explicitly connect these dots, helping women understand how a brisk walk or strength session can directly alleviate the challenges they face that day.

Practical Features for Real-World Adherence

The co-design workshops generated concrete, prioritized features for an effective digital tool. The top recommendations were:

• A Home-Based, Adaptable Exercise Library: Visual guides for bodyweight strength training, yoga, or cardio that require minimal or no equipment, respecting needs for privacy and convenience.
• Personalisation Options: Allowing women to tailor workouts based on their energy levels, available time, specific symptoms (e.g., focusing on low-impact routines for joint pain), and fitness level.
• Progress Tracking with Positive Feedback: Monitoring improvements in flexibility, endurance, or symptom frequency rather than just weight.
• Social and Community Support: Safe, moderated forums or community challenges to reduce the isolation some women feel during menopause.

The study noted that for the Saudi context specifically, features ensuring modesty and involving family for digital support were vital for inclusion. This principle of cultural adaptation is broadly applicable; an effective program for women in North America or Europe might instead focus on time-efficient routines for working mothers or integrating with popular local wellness practices.

Building an Ecosystem for Sustainable Change

Perhaps the most insightful recommendation from the study was the need for an “ecosystem approach.” The researchers concluded that an app alone is insufficient for creating lasting change. Success depends on integration into a broader support system.

This means healthcare providers should be trained to “prescribe” and endorse the digital tool during consultations. Partnerships with local community centers, employers, or wellness brands could support promotion and sustainability. Furthermore, the study acknowledged the digital divide by recommending built-in tutorials or intergenerational family support to help women with lower digital literacy engage confidently. By connecting the digital tool to real-world support networks, the intervention becomes more credible and accessible, moving beyond a standalone product to become part of a woman’s integrated health strategy.

Conclusion

This co-design study provides a blueprint for moving menopause exercise guidance from a generic prescription to a personalized, compassionate practice. It shows that addressing cultural, practical, and motivational barriers through thoughtful digital design can make the well-documented benefits of physical activity genuinely attainable for more women navigating midlife.

Sources:
AlSwayied G, Frost R, Hamilton FL. Co-designing a culturally appropriate mHealth physical activity intervention for midlife women experiencing menopause in Saudi Arabia: stakeholder recommendations. BMC Public Health. 2026.