American research has found that exercise can help to lessen some symptoms of menopause , although it cannot remedy hot flushes. Pennsylvanian researchers discovered that physical activity can assist post-menopausal women in coping with anxiety, stress and depression . Study author Deborah Nelson, a professor of public health and obstetrics and gynaecology at Temple University in Philadelphia, said that the eight-year study, which commenced in 1996, found that increased levels of exercise correlated with results showing decreased levels of stress;

Although the study failed in its objective of establishing a relationship between exercise and hot flushes, the effect of activity on stress was deemed to be an equally, if not more, significant finding as it is stress and depression that can have a longer term negative impact on women.

The researchers studied 380 women with an average age of 42 who walked for differing amounts of time each day.

The next question is;
"would it be even more helpful if they were involved in a higher level of physical intervention?"
Dr Nieca Goldberg, medical director of the Women’s Health Program at New York University Medical Centre said "It’s not surprising that exercise doesn’t help hot flushes. The reason why there are hot flushes is because the brain’s centre for temperature is altered by the lower levels of hormones".

Since exercise raises the body’s temperature, she explained, it is logical that it wouldn’t make women experiencing hot flushes feel any cooler.

_{Source: Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise}