THE EFFECT OF AEROBIC EXERCISE ON MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN NON-ATHLETE POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN

Menopause is a period that in which fertility changes to infertility. In long run,
symptoms like hot flashes, night sweating, decentralization and increasing of heart disease can occur.
The aim of this study was examining the effect of aerobic exercise on menopausal symptoms and
quality of life in postmenopausal women.
Materials & Methods: Fifty healthy postmenopausal women (age 45-60 years) were selected by
convenience sampling method, and they were randomly assigned to control (n=20) and experimental
(n=30) groups. The exercise protocol included aerobic exercise training for 8 weeks (3 sessions per
week, 30 min at the first session and gradual increase to 55min at the final session), with intensity of
50-70(HRR). Before and after each aerobic exercise session, menopause symptoms and quality of life
evaluated respectively by menopause Scale Green and Utian Quality Of Life Scale. For comparison of
means within and between means, paired and independent t-test was used respectively.
Result: Subscales of menopausal symptoms like physical, mental, anxiety and depression were
decreased significantly in postmenopausal women after aerobic training. Sexual and vasomotor
symptoms during this period were not changed significantly. Subscales of quality of life such as job
satisfaction, health, sensation and sexual scales increased significantly (P<0.05).
Conclusion: Results showed that aerobic training reduced significantly menopause symptoms,
physical and mental degeneration, anxiety, depression. It also increased the quality of life in
postmenopausal women. These results suggest that aerobic exercise lead to reducing menopausal
symptoms, so it is recommended for women to put the exercise program in their daily life to decrease
the effects of menopause