Exercise Recommended for Menopausal Women

A new study finds that about 50% of women who regularly walk or practice yoga have "a better quality of life and reduced negative effects of menopause."

Although the mechanism is unclear, whether menopausal symptoms improved or worsened seemed tied to improvement or worsening of cardiorespiratory fitness. Those women whose menopausal symptoms decreased also improved their mental health, mood, and quality of life.

The connection could be that exercise improves mood, which in turn might make menopausal symptoms less subjectively severe.

The study contradicts earlier work, which found no such link between fitness and menopausal symptoms. WebMD quotes a professor at NYU School of Medicine who doubts that exercise actually helps with the worse symptom: hot flashes.