Hot flashes and weight gain are common complaints among women during menopause. Recent research suggests that regular exercise could alleviate both symptoms.
Hot Flashes
During menopause, women may struggle more to prevent weight gain. Particularly, visceral fat, or abdominal fat, becomes more prevalent [1]. Often influenced by, among other factors, lower estrogen levels. Previous research had already demonstrated that regular exercise reduces the amount of abdominal fat, which is not very surprising. Yesterday, the results of a new study were published in the journal Menopause, showing that exercising could also reduce the frequency of hot flashes [2].
234 inactive Spanish women aged 45 to 64 participated in the study. They followed a supervised training regimen for 20 weeks. After the 20 weeks, the participants reported positive effects indicating improved physical and mental well-being. They had lost weight, and their fitness and flexibility had improved. Again, not very surprising.
However, the number of hot flashes was also reduced.
Documented results have shown fewer hot flashes and improved mood and that, overall, women are feeling better while their health risks decrease.
Dr. JoAnn Pinkerton, The North American Menopause Society (NAMS)
Many Studies, Many Results
The above summary refers to the publication which I, however, couldn’t find in the February issue of Menopause. More information would be useful here. What did the training entail, and what about the number of hot flashes during the training? Furthermore, how does this relate to previous research on the relationship between physical activity such as exercise and hot flashes?
The aforementioned findings align with previous studies from 1998 and 2005 [3,4]. However, other large-scale research from 2009 showed a higher number of hot flashes in very active women [5]. The same conclusion followed from studies in 2007 [6,7]. Research from 2004 found no association between physical activity and the number of hot flashes [8].
In some of these studies, regular exercise was also considered ‘high physical activity’, although sometimes heavy work was also included. The various outcomes could also be caused by differences in age, whether or not hormone therapy was used, and other biological factors whose role is not yet well understood [5].
Entering Menopause Sooner by Exercising?
Even if you’re not yet in menopause, leading a sporty life can influence future menopause. Unfortunately, not in a positive way. According to Japanese research, regular exercise can lead to an earlier onset of menopause [9]. 3,115 premenopausal women were followed for 10 years. In those ten years, 1,790 women reached menopause. Women who trained between 8-10 hours per week had a 17% higher chance of entering menopause at an earlier age.
However, this isn’t a reason to avoid exercising. A causal relationship couldn’t be established. According to the NAMS, it seems plausible that exercise lowered the amount of estrogen, which could lead to an earlier menopause. However, less estrogen could also lower the risk of breast cancer. A reason why women who enter menopause later might have a higher risk of breast cancer. Possibly even more important: sitting back and entering menopause with overweight poses a whole different set of risks (diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, etc.).
Conclusion: Exercising Against Hot Flashes?
So, like other media outlets, we can only take over the summary here, but I would have liked to read how the researchers explain these differences. Can such a statement be made generally about the relationship between exercising and hot flashes? The role of hormone therapy is also unclear in this regard.
The exact influence of exercising on the number of hot flashes is still difficult to determine. However, given the increase in visceral fat, regular exercise during menopause remains the advice.
References
- Kanaley JA, Sames C, Swisher L, Swick AG, Ploutz-Snyder LL, Steppan CM,Sagendorf KS, Feiglin D, Jaynes EB, Meyer RA, Weinstock RS. Abdominal fatdistribution in pre- and postmenopausal women: The impact of physical activity,
age, and menopausal status. Metabolism. 2001 Aug;50(8):976-82. PubMed PMID:
11474488. - menopause.org/docs/default-source/default-document-library/exercise-benefits-for-postmenopausal-women-2-17.pdf
- Di Donato P, Giulini NA, Bacchi Modena A, Cicchetti G, Comitini G, Gentile G, Cristiani P, Careccia A, Esposito E, Gualdi F, et al. Factors associated with climacteric symptoms in women around menopause attending menopause clinics in Italy. Maturitas. 2005;52:181–189.
- Ivarsson T, Spetz AC, Hammar M. Physical exercise and vasomotor symptoms in postmenopausal women. Maturitas. 1998;29:139–146.
- ROMANI WA, GALLICCHIO L, FLAWS JA. The Association Between Physical Activity and Hot Flash Severity, Frequency, and Duration in Mid-Life Women. American journal of human biology : the official journal of the Human Biology Council. 2009;21(1):127-129. doi:10.1002/ajhb.20834.
- Whitcomb BW, Whiteman MK, Langenberg P, Flaws JA, Romani WA. Physical activity and risk of hot flashes among women in midlife.J Womens Health (Larchmt). 2007 Jan-Feb; 16(1):124-33.
- Gold EB, Lasley B, Crawford SL, McConnell D, Joffe H, Greendale GA. Relation of daily urinary hormone patterns to vasomotor symptoms in a racially/ethnically diverse sample of midlife women: study of women’s health across the nation. Reprod Sci. 2007 Dec; 14(8):786-97.
- Kemmler W, Lauber D, Weineck J, Hensen J, Kalender W, Engelke K. Benefits of 2 years of intense exercise on bone density, physical fitness, and blood lipids in early postmenopausal osteopenic women: results of the Erlangen Fitness Osteoporosis Prevention Study (EFOPS). Arch Intern Med. 2004;:1084–1091.
- Nagata C, Wada K, Nakamura K, Tamai Y, Tsuji M, Shimizu H. Associations of physical activity and diet with the onset of menopause in Japanese women.Menopause. 2012 Jan;19(1):75-81. doi: 10.1097/gme.0b013e3182243737. PubMed PMID: 21926924.
