HealthDay News — A behavioral weight-loss program may be effective in helping overweight or obese female patients lose weight and reduce hot flashes, according to a study published in Menopause.
“Although adiposity has been considered to be protective against hot flashes, newer data suggest positive relationships between hot flashes and adiposity,” wrote Rebecca C. Thurston, PhD, of the University of Pittsburgh, and colleagues.
Forty overweight or obese female patients with four or more hot flashes per day were randomly assigned to either behavior weight-loss intervention or weight-loss control.
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Most females (74.1%) reported hot flash reduction as a motivator for weight loss. Patients in the intervention group, compared with those in the control group, lost more weight (−8.86 kg versus +0.23 kg; P<0.0001) and had greater reductions in questionnaire-reported hot flashes over a two-week period (−63.0 versus −28.0; P=0.03).
No differences were observed between the groups in other measures of hot flashes. A significant positive correlation was observed between weight loss and reduction in hot flashes (P=0.006).
“Behavioral weight loss program that is feasible, acceptable, and effective in producing weight loss among overweight or obese women with hot flashes,” concluded the researchers. “Hot flash management could motivate women to engage in this health-promoting behavior.”
