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 change s to infertility. I n long run, symptoms like hot flashes, night sweating, decentralization and increas ing 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. 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. Subscales of menopausal symptoms like physical, mental, anxiety and depression were decreased significantly in postmenopausal women after aerobic training. S exual 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). 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 reduc ing menopausal symptoms, so it is recommend ed for women to put the exercise program in their daily life to decrease the effects of menopause.