Fifteen of twenty-one analyzed articles (71%) aligned with the hypothesis that functional fitness training incurs statistically significant mental health benefits for older women, with outcomes such as reduced anxiety and/or depression and improved general mental health, social functioning, and/or quality of life.
Key Findings
Results
A majority of studies found that functional fitness training produced statistically significant mental health benefits for older women.
21 articles from 12 countries were analyzed and assessed for risk of bias.
15 articles (71%) aligned with the research hypothesis that functional fitness training incurs statistically significant mental health benefits for older women.
Beneficial outcomes included reduced anxiety and/or depression and improved general mental health, social functioning, and/or quality of life.
The systematic review searched CINAHL, Global Health, PsycInfo, SportsDiscus, and Web of Science databases with no publication date restrictions.
Results
Moderate-intensity functional fitness exercise appeared to be as beneficial as high-intensity exercise for mental health outcomes in older women.
This finding suggests that lower exercise intensity thresholds may be sufficient to achieve mental health benefits.
This has practical implications for exercise prescription in older adult populations who may have physical limitations preventing high-intensity activity.
The comparison of intensity levels was an emergent finding across the 21 reviewed articles.
Background
Older women in the U.S. report higher rates of poor mental health than older men, providing rationale for this targeted review.
Increased physical activity is associated with improved neurocognitive function, mood regulation, and greater social participation in older adults.
Functional fitness training has been shown to have several benefits for adults generally, but its mental health benefits specifically for older women had not previously been systematically reviewed.
The review targeted samples including women aged 60 years of age and older.
Conclusions
Most studies included in the review did not analyze results by sex/gender and did not utilize samples of healthy, community-dwelling older adults.
Few studies analyzed their results by sex/gender, limiting the specificity of conclusions that can be drawn for older women.
Most studies did not utilize samples of healthy, community-dwelling adults, which may limit generalizability to this population.
These gaps led the authors to discuss recommendations for future research.
The review included articles from 12 different countries, reflecting international scope but also potential heterogeneity in study populations and designs.
What This Means
This research suggests that a specific type of exercise called functional fitness training — which focuses on movements that help with everyday tasks like lifting, bending, and balancing — can meaningfully improve the mental health of women aged 60 and older. Researchers reviewed 21 studies from 12 countries and found that in 71% of those studies, older women who participated in functional fitness programs showed statistically significant improvements in mental health measures such as reduced anxiety and depression, better overall mental health, improved social functioning, and higher quality of life. Notably, moderate-intensity exercise appeared to work just as well as high-intensity exercise for achieving these mental health benefits.
This research matters because older women in the United States report worse mental health than older men, yet there was previously no systematic summary of evidence on whether this particular type of exercise could help address that gap. Functional fitness training may be an accessible and practical option because it does not require high-intensity effort to produce meaningful mental health improvements, which is relevant for older adults who may have physical limitations.
However, the authors note important limitations in the existing research. Most of the studies they reviewed did not separately analyze outcomes for women versus men, and many were conducted in clinical or institutionalized settings rather than with healthy adults living in the community. This means the full picture of how functional fitness training benefits healthy, independent older women is still not well understood, and the authors call for future studies that specifically address these gaps.
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B. Howell, M. Hansen, Tracy Hellem. (2026). A systematic review of mental health benefits of functional fitness exercise interventions in older women.. Aging & Mental Health. https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2026.2612737