WIS News 10 - Columbia, South Carolina |Health Alert: Hot flashes

Health Alert: Hot flashes

(National) July 18, 2005 - Joan Newman is 54. When she hit menopause, she began having trouble focusing and sleeping, and worst of all, "I was experiencing hot flashes probably three or four times an hour."

Four months ago, she reluctantly started exercising three to four times a week and it's changed her life, "I only experience hot flashes now, probably three or four times a day."

Dr. Barbara Bushman is not surprised. According to a study conducted by the North American Menopause Society, about 75% of older women experience hot flashes. The physiological causes are not known, but Dr. Bushman says the study found that low physical exercise is one factor associated with how often they occur and how severe they are, "What we've seen in the research is that starting to exercise, or maintaining exercise from when we are younger provides benefits."

Menopausal women also lose bone density and muscle mass, so they should focus on flexibility, strength training, and cardio-respiratory work. Bushman says it's important to remember that exercise is almost like medicine taken to counteract the gradual decline of our bodies, "Once we reach adulthood, we lose about 5-7 pounds of muscle mass a decade. The declines in strength from the ages of 50-70 are about 30%."

Newman says getting active can have enormous benefits, "Exercise has been the answer for me. It has just been a huge difference for me. And I'm glad that I made that decision and that's the route that I decided to take."

Bushman says you don't have to be a fanatic either. It's important to start slowly and find something you enjoy, so that you'll keep at it.

Reported by Dawndy Mercer
Posted 5:01pm by BrettWitt