Weight Loss and Menopause

Weight loss may help reduce menopausal hot flashes in overweight or obese women.
CNN /Health.com (7/13, Mann) reports, "Overweight women who experience hot flashes -- the uncomfortable flushing and sweating spells that accompany menopause -- may be able to cool those symptoms by losing weight," according to a study published in the July 12 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.
HealthDay (7/12, Holohan) explained that study participants "were encouraged to exercise at least 200 minutes a week and reduce caloric intake to 1,200-1,500 calories per day." Meanwhile, matched controls "received monthly group education classes for the first four months."
WebMD (7/12, Woznicki) pointed out that participants all "had a BMI of 25 or higher" at the study's start. Six months later, "compared with those in the health education program, women who were in the weight loss program and were bothered by hot flashes had more than twice the odds of reporting a measurable improvement after six months." What's more, those women also lost weight, had a smaller waist size, and a decreased BMI. Medscape (7/12, Barclay) also covered the story.