New research out of the University of California at Berkeley finds postmenopausal women can achieve the same health benefits from exercise as younger women.
Researchers put 10 female participants with an average age of 55 through rigorous endurance training for the study. Their findings suggest that exercise without weight loss is an effective method of increasing energy and controlling risk factors for chronic diseases in older women.
“Despite changes in hormones and changes in body composition, postmenopausal women can make significant changes in their cardiovascular fitness without going on extreme diets,” says Dr. Zinta Zarins, one of the researchers in the study.
Participants in the study, which appears in the journal Metabolism-Clinical and Experimental, were able to increase their bodys capacity to consume and use oxygen by an average of 16 percent and dropped their resting heart rates by an average of four beats per minute.
“In effect, the women in our study had the cardiovascular and metabolic capabilities of women 16 years younger,” says study leader and exercise physiologist George Brooks.
Meanwhile, health practitioners have also suggested that diet and nutritional supplements as well as massages and reflexology treatments may minimize unpleasant symptoms of menopause including hot flashes, headaches, insomnia, weight gain or fatigue. 