Menopauseis a period of transition characterized by many physiological changes. In addition to characteristic symptoms such as hot flashes night sweats, decreased libido, some women may experience slight weight gain.
Good news, a study of the North American Menopause Society reassures on this last point, so dreaded, by affirming that it would be possible to keep the line thanks to the sport. The benefits of even light and moderate physical activity would be greater in postmenopausal women compared to women before menopause, the publication points out.
For the purposes of the study, 630 premenopausal women and 274 postmenopausal women were followed. The team also measured the duration of physical activities performed and periods of inactivity.
Conclusion of the experience: postmenopausal women were found to be more sedentary and unsurprisingly displayed a larger waist size than premenopausal women. This is not surprising since the Body Mass Index (BMI), the percentage of body fat and the waist circumference generally increase after menopause.
But a new development, researchers have found that it only takes a little physical activity, even light, such as gardening or walking, to reverse the trend and stay in shape.
Stay active after menopause
“For each measure of body structure, we found that light physical activity had a greater impact in postmenopausal women than in premenopausal women “ Dr. Lisa Troy, lead author of the study and researcher at the University of Massachusetts (USA) told Relaxnews. According to her, this study should encourage postmenopausal women to stay active. “Sedentary behavior was more strongly correlated with the waist circumference of postmenopausal women. This is a critical public health message, however, because when women go through menopause physiological changes can reduce their motivation to exercise.“, concluded Dr. Troy.
The slimming aspect is not the only interest in playing sports after menopause. A study from Stanford University found that this helped prevent the risk of cardiac arrhythmia.
>> To read also:How menopause would cause depression
Menopause: women turn to alternative medicine
Menopause: tips for not gaining weight
Do you play sports to maintain your figure? Comment on the forum.
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