Menopausal hormone therapy (MHT)

Estrogen, usually combined with a progestogen, used to relieve menopausal symptoms and protect bone — the women's form of HRT.

Updated Jul 16, 2026

Menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) — often just called HRT — replaces the estrogen that falls at menopause, usually paired with a progestogen if the uterus is present. It mainly treats menopausal symptoms (hot flashes, night sweats, genitourinary symptoms) and helps protect bone.

MHT is associated with somewhat less visceral fat, but it does not preserve muscle and is not a weight-loss treatment. See the guide on HRT for women and GLP-1 medications.

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Related terms

Testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) — Replacing testosterone in men who have hypogonadism (clinically low testosterone plus symptoms), delivered as a gel, injection, patch, or pellet. It is for a specific diagnosis, not a default treatment for the reversible low testosterone that often accompanies obesity.
Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) — Treatment that replaces a hormone the body no longer produces in adequate amounts — most commonly estrogen (usually with a progestogen) for menopausal women, or testosterone for men with hypogonadism. It is not a weight-loss treatment and is separate from GLP-1 medications.
SHBG (sex hormone-binding globulin) — A protein that binds and transports sex hormones (including testosterone) in the blood. Obesity lowers SHBG, which reduces measured total testosterone and is a major reason obesity can look like low testosterone on a lab test.
Hypogonadism — A condition of low sex-hormone production. In men it means low testosterone with symptoms; importantly, the low testosterone that often accompanies obesity is frequently a reversible state ('pseudo-hypogonadism') rather than true, pathologic hypogonadism.

Related guides

HRT for women and GLP-1 medications: menopause, weight, and body composition — Menopause shifts where the body stores fat and how it holds muscle — the same terrain a GLP-1 works on, which is why hormone therapy comes up. Here's what HRT is for women, who benefits, and how it does (and doesn't) intersect with GLP-1 weight management.
Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and GLP-1 medications: an overview — HRT and GLP-1s are different tools that keep coming up together, because the life stages where people reach for hormones — menopause in women, low testosterone in men — are also times of weight and body-composition change. Here's how they relate, who benefits, and how to think about using them together.