Exercise for midlife women.

Exercise is good for everyone, but it's more important than ever when you reach midlife. While regular exercise may not eliminate symptoms like hot flushes, it can improve your general well-being and increase your strength and stamina in daily life. If you want to lose fat or maintain a healthy weight, exercise is far more effective than diet alone.

Exercise and menopause: a time for positive changes.

Exercise may help control a number of physical and psychological problems and changes associated with menopause and midlife, including depression, weight gain, loss of muscle mass and bone density, the risk of coronary artery disease, and possibly vasomotor symptoms. The basic prescription of aerobic exercise (20 to 60 minutes 3 to 5 days per week) and strength training (2 to 3 days per week) should be adapted to the patient's medical condition, fitness level, motivation, experience, and preferences. Exercise effects can be supplemented by estrogen therapy, a low-fat diet, and adequate calcium and vitamin D intake.

Beyond the exercise prescription: making exercise a way of life.

When we hand a patient a prescription for medication, we may assume that it will be filled and taken as we've instructed. We too often discover later that fears or unanswered questions kept the patient from ever filling the prescription or that side effects led him or her to discontinue its use. And we may never learn what the patient did if he or she wants our approval or fears our response to the truth.