Aim: The aim of the present study is to investigate the effect of rhythmic aerobic exercise and soy milk on some systolic and diastolic blood pressures in postmenopausal women.

Method:In this applied and quasi-experimental study with a pre-test and post-test design, 60 postmenopausal women were selected through purposive sampling and randomly and homogeneously divided into 4 groups of 15: soy milk, exercise, combination, and control. A consent form was obtained from the subjects before starting the exercise. The exercise intervention consisted of eight weeks of exercise, three sessions per week at an intensity of 50-70% of heart rate reserve. The soy milk group received 80 grams of soy milk daily, while the control group received no intervention.

Results: The results showed that a significant decrease in systolic blood pressure was observed in the intervention groups compared to baseline and control values (P<0.05); however, there was no significant difference in diastolic blood pressure changes between the intervention groups (P>0.05). Also, a significant decrease in diastolic blood pressure was observed in the exercise and combination groups compared to baseline values and the control and soy milk groups (P<0.05); however, no significant difference was observed between the exercise and combination groups (P>0.05).

Conclusion:The results of the present study showed that the inclusion of sports activities along with nutritional interventions such as soy milk consumption should be considered as part of preventive programs to reduce cardiometabolic complications caused by menopause.

Keywords: Rhythmic aerobic exercise, soy milk; systolic and diastolic blood pressure, postmenopausal women