Health practitioners have been suggesting exercise as a helpful tool in reducing the symptoms of menopause like hot flashes, headaches, insomnia, weight gain and fatigue for years. Now, a new study finds that postmenopausal women can reap the same benefits as younger women from engaging in a regular exercise routine.

The study out of the University of California at Berkeley put 10 women with an average age of 55 through rigorous endurance training. The findings suggest that exercise without weight loss is an effective method of increasing energy and controlling risk factors for chronic diseases in older women.

Participants in the study, which appears in the journal Metabolism – Clinical and Experimental, were able to increase their body’s capacity to consume and use oxygen by an average of 16 percent and dropped their resting heart rates by an average of 4 beats per minute.

"In effect, the women in our study had the cardiovascular and metabolic capabilities of women 16 years younger," says study leader and exercise physiologist George Brooks.

Meanwhile, health practitioners have also suggested that diet and nutritional supplements as well as massages and reflexology treatments may minimize unpleasant symptoms of menopause including hot flashes, headaches, insomnia, weight gain or fatigue.