Got Menopause? It’s Time to Exercise!

Are you are in or near menopause?

If so, there’s a good chance you are trying to figure out what should I be doing to feel better…to feel more in control.

What are your options?

There’s basically hormones (or not), non-hormone prescriptions (or not), over the counter supplements (or not), and lifestyle changes (or not). It’s not easy to decide because the information about risks and benefits can be confusing. And that leaves a lot of women…toughing it out.

Well, while you are waiting?

A new study has some important information that you can and should be doing while you are waiting…and while you start to figure things out.

Are you ready for the drum-roll???

EXERCISE.

Yup. This new study published in the journal Menopause looked at the role of an exercise program on the emotional well-being and emotional distress of middle-aged women.

What did the study show?

The study randomly assigned 150 middle-aged women into either counseling or exercise. The counseling group attended conferences on healthy lifestyle (including diet and physical activity topics). The exercise group followed a 60-minute aerobic + resistance exercise training 3 days/week for 16 weeks.

The study assessed emotional health using the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) to find out the differences between the counseling and exercise groups. They made adjustments for the women’s weight and how well they stuck to a Mediterranean diet. Positive scores were higher when emotional health and their menopause experience was better, and negative scores were lower when their emotional health and their menopause experience were less ideal.

And now, the envelope please…..

The PANAS scores increased far better in the exercise group than in the counseling group.

What does this mean?

This study is one more bit of evidence that every woman in or near menopause…and her doctor…should know.

Exercise (in this instance just 16 weeks of it) can improve your emotional experience at this time of life. Women in the exercise group significantly improved their emotional well-being and lowered their emotional distress, they were more positive and felt better than comparable women who learned about what to do…but didn’t get off the couch and do it.