Postmenopausal women wanted for study

James Cook University occupational therapy lecturer Dr Fiona Barnett is looking for postmenopausal women in the Townsville region who do not regularly participate in exercise.

“The Premier, Anna Bligh, recently said that Queensland ranked worst in Australia for obesity with 42 percent of women either overweight or obese and three out of four saying they did not exercise regularly,” Dr Barnett said.

She is seeking women to take part in her study of the exercise behaviour of postmenopausal women. It would involve the women making two visits to JCU for a 30 minute session.

“Despite the evidence that exercise may be cardioprotective, many postmenopausal women do not partake in regular exercise,” she said.

“One reason for this may be that postmenopausal women do not feel that they could successfully perform exercise activities as they are too tiring or they may cause a risk to their health,” Dr Barnett said.

“Another reason may be that they are unfamiliar with exercise activities, resulting in negative perceptions towards exercise.”

Dr Barnett said that giving non-exercising postmenopausal women the opportunity to successfully complete an unfamiliar exercise activity may promote a sense of accomplishment and the perception that exercise can be an enjoyable experience.

A postmenopausal woman is one who has not had a menstrual cycle for at least 12 months.

(Source: James Cook University: September 2008)