Researchers from the Temple University in Philadelphia arrived at this conclusion after conducting an experiment that involved 380 African American and white women, and monitoring their physical activities and menopausal symptoms for eight years, starting in 1996 and 1997.
The findings of the experiment showed that the subjects in the top two-thirds in terms of physical activity experienced lower levels of menopausal stress, compared to those who fell in the bottom third.
Symptoms such as hot flashes, depression, anxiety and stress, not to mention other physiological and somatic conditions were evaluated during follow-up checkups conducted throughout the study.
According to WebMD, the women involved in the study were in the beginning premenopausal, transitioning into the menopause phase during the study. The study ended with 20 percent of the women reaching menopause, and 18 percent close to reaching it.
The study's measurements reflected that women considered most active walked for about 1.5 hours, five times a week. Those considered moderately active walked for 38 minutes, five times per week. These two groups were considered those who experienced symptoms of less intensity, compared to the remainder of the subjects, who walked for 16 minutes, five times per week.
However, some symptoms such as hot flashes were not affected by the level of the women's physical activity, reported the UPI.
"Physical symptoms like hot flashes will go away when you reach menopause," explained lead author Deborah Nelson, "but mental health is something women still need to think about post-menopause."
The study and its findings were published in an issue of the medical journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.
