Benefits of exercise in perimenopausal age: an interventional study

Abstract

Health and exercise hold immense importance in the life of a woman. The importance of exercise increases rapidly during perimenopausal period. Most of the problems during this period arise due to lack of knowledge and not exercising. If their perception regarding exercise is altered, then this can prove to be helpful in curbing the problems faced. The role of exercise is however unknown to many undergoing this period. Keeping this in mind, we selected women from Gynae OPD and Family Planning Centre, Majeedia Hospital, Jamia Hamdard and familiarized them with the importance of exercise during this stage. One hundred perimenopausal women between the age of thirty to fifty years who could read & understand Hindi and/or English were taken for the study. Self-instructional Module (SIM) based on role of exercise was given and focus group discussion was done weekly. There was a significant difference in the perception scores regarding exercise of the subject before & after intervention as revealed by the Wilcoxon signed Ranks test (p<0.001) The study showed that educational level was strongly associated with exercise during this period.