Hot Flash Problems Reduced Via Weight Loss. Hey, Scientists Say So!

Trouble brewing...

​"Honey, if you don't want to have so many bad hot flashes, why don't you lose some weight?"

The preceding statement will get you killed. You will be murdered. Your wife will not be found guilty by any jury in the land; she will weep that you're dead -- only because you have denied her the satisfaction of killing you again.

But, a U.C. San Francisco study has shown, it's arguably an accurate statement.

According to a study in the current edition of Archives of Internal Medicine, overweight and obese women can reduce the severity of their hot flashes if they drop pounds via exercise and improved diet.

​The study analyzed 338 women aged 30 or more with a Body Mass Index of 25 to 50 (mildly heavy to alarmingly overweight). One group attended weekly sessions led by nutritionists and experts in exercise pros and was counseled on how to live and eat healthier. The other group participated in a far less intense session that merely provided "general information about weight loss, physical activity, healthy eating, and health promotion." Yes, this was the control group.

After six months, women who reduced their weight, waist size, and BMI also reported fewer problems with hot flashes: The "active group" was twice as likely to have an improvement in hot flashes compared to the control group.

"We still don't understand the underlying mechanism of hot flashes, or why some women experience flashes and others don't," said Dr. Alison J. Huang, an assistant professor of internal medicine in the UCSF Department of Medicine and the paper's lead author. "The good news is that millions of women who are overweight and troubled by hot flashes may be able to reduce their discomfort through diet and exercise."
 
The challenge now is finding the right way to impart this message. And live.

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