Exercise is recommended for all age groups as part of a healthy lifestyle to help maintain optimum wellness and improve quality of life. Now research reports that regular exercise helps improve mental and physical menopausal symptoms in women. The benefits of exercise include improved bone density (decreasing the risk of osteoporosis), stronger bones and muscles, reduced body fat, lower cholesterol, and less insomnia, migraines and mood changes.
In a recent study published in the Journal of Advanced Nursing, researchers at the University of Granada in Spain assigned either a 12-month exercise program or no exercise (controls) to 48 menopausal women. At the beginning of the study, half of the women in each group reported severe menopausal symptoms. At the end of 12 months, 37 percent of the exercise group and 66 percent of the control group reported severe menopausal symptoms.
"There was a statistically significant improvement in the health-related quality of life of the experimental group, whereas the health-related quality of life of the control group significantly worsened," write the study authors. "Menopausal symptoms also significantly improved in the experimental group and significantly worsened in the control group over the 12-month study period. A customized exercise programme is valuable for improving the health-related quality of life of menopausal women."
Another study found that women in their first few years of menopause can experience significant improvement in menopausal symptoms with exercise. Researchers at the University of Erlangen in Germany assigned either a 3-year exercise program or no exercise (controls) to 78 newly menopausal women. The exercise group worked out four times per week for 65 to 70 minutes per session. The exercise sessions included aerobic exercises, weight lifting, calisthenics and stretching. The groups did not change their diet.
The researchers found that the exercise group lost about 2 percent of their body fat, while body fat percentage remained stable in the control group. The exercise group did not experience bone mineral density loss, as compared to the control group who experienced significant decreases in bone density. Muscle strength, endurance and aerobic capacity improved in the exercise group, but not for the control group. Findings also revealed that the exercise group had lower cholesterol, and less insomnia, migraines and mood changes, than the control group.
"Our mixed high-intensity exercise program effectively compensates for most negative changes related to the menopausal transition," the study authors conclude.
REFERENCES:
1. Villaverde-Gutierrez C et al. Quality of life of rural menopausal women in response to a customized exercise programme. J Adv Nurs 2006 Apr;54(1):11-9.
2. Kemmler W et al. Exercise effects on menopausal risk factors of early postmenopausal women: 3-yr erlangen fitness osteoporosis prevention study results. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2005 Feb;37(2):194-203.
Posted by Elaine Gavalas on June 26, 2006 01:36 PM
