Exercise may influence hot flashes

Attitude may influence how exercise affects menopausal women, says a new study. The research, identified two types of women — one experiences more hot flashes after physical activity, while the other experiences fewer. "The most consistent factor that seemed to differentiate the two groups was perceived control over hot flashes," said Steriani Elavsky, assistant professor of kinesiology at the Penn State University, who led the study. "These women have ways of dealing with (hot flashes) and they believe they can control or cope with them in an effective way on a daily basis," added Elavasky, the journal Maturitas reported. Women who experienced fewer hot flashes the day after participating in vigorous to moderate physical activity were more likely to be part of the group that felt they had control over their hot flashes, according to a university statement. Women who had more hot flashes following exercise were likely to be those who felt they had very few ways of coping with their hot flashes, said Elavsky and her colleagues. Elavsky suggested that cognitive behavioural therapy may help some women feel they have more control over their bodies and reactions to hot flashes. "It's not enough anymore to do a study and look at overall impact of an exercise programme on symptoms. It's very clear that we need to look at the different responses that women might have, and try to understand these individual differences more," said Elavsky.