|
 Walking,
Yoga may enhance quality of life during
menopause
Newswise — Physical activity may
help ease symptoms and increase quality of life during menopause,
according to a new study.
“The surprising aspect of the
study is the fact that we found a significant association between
changes in cardiorespiratory fitness and changes in menopausal
symptoms,” said lead author Steriani Elavsky, Ph.D., of Penn State
University. “This is contrary to other studies, which previously
reported no associations.”
One hundred sixty-four sedentary
menopausal women were randomly assigned to a walking program, a yoga
program or a control group that did no additional exercise for four
months. The women who walked or took yoga classes reported a better
quality of life and reduced negative effects of menopause compared
to the no-exercise group.
The women who walked or took yoga
classes reported improvements in mood and menopause-related quality
of life compared to the no-exercise group.
The women, whose
average age was nearly 50, completed body
composition and fitness assessments along with a
battery of psychological tests at the beginning and
end of the study, which appears in the April issue
of the journal Annals
of Behavioral Medicine.
Walking was chosen because it is
an aerobic activity, while yoga was chosen because it is not
aerobic, said Elavsky, an assistant professor of kinesiology.
The results showed that both
walking and yoga were effective at enhancing quality of life.
Whether menopausal symptoms improved or worsened appeared to be
determined by increases or decreases in cardiorespiratory fitness.
Women who experienced decreases in
menopausal symptoms in the study also experienced improvements in
all positive mental health and quality of life outcomes.
About 1.5 million American women
reach menopause each year, at an average age of 52, and 80 percent
to 85 percent experience unpleasant symptoms such as hot flashes,
night sweats, irritability, anxiety or emotional instability.
Fitness improvements may directly
or indirectly impact the symptoms of menopause, both mental and
physical, said Amy Eyler, Ph.D., of the Saint Louis University
School of Public Health. “Exercise benefits so many other body
systems. It should be an integral part of these types of
interventions.”
Annals of Behavioral
Medicine is the
official peer-reviewed publication of The Society of Behavioral
Medicine. For information about the journal, contact Alan J.
Christensen, Ph.D., at (319) 335-3396. Visit the Society of
Behavioral Medicine at
http://www.sbm.org
|
Now,
keep up to date with daily feeds of newly posted stories about America's
Seniors...click on the box to the left