A new study has revealed that leading an inactive or sedentary lifestyle can worsen menopause by increasing your risk of hot flashes and other post-menopausal symptoms at later stage of life.

Sedentary middle-aged Hispanic women in Latin America have significantly worse menopause symptoms than their active counterparts, according to the study of over 6,000 women across Latin America.

The study found 64 percent of women leading a sedentary lifestyle and 16 percent of them had severe menopause symptoms compared with 11 percent of the active women.

The researchers assessed data from the Collaborative Group for Research of the Climacteric in Latin America surveys and health records of 6,079 women, ages 40 to 59, who attended one of 20 urban health centres in eleven Latin American countries.

The symptoms on the Menopause Rating Scale (MRS) questionnaire include somatic symptoms, such as joint pains and hot flashes, psychological symptoms such as anxiety and depressed mood, and urogenital symptoms such as bladder problems, sexual problems and vaginal dryness. The women also answered other questions, such as the status of their menopause and what their activity levels were.

The women were said to be leading a sedentary lifestyle if they reported less than three weekly sessions of physical activity, such as swimming, walking or jogging, that lasted thirty minutes or longer, and menopause symptoms were considered severe if the MRS score was 16 or more.

The study has been published online in the journal Menopause.