A little exercise goes a long way toward improving the quality of life for overweight women according to a study released by the American Heart Association. The study results were reported at the AHA’s Conference on Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism.

The Dose Response To Exercise in Postmenopausal Women (DREW) study, first reported in 2007, was the largest randomized, controlled trial examining the role of exercise in postmenopausal women. The study focused on the quality of life among 430 women divided into four groups: three groups exercising at various levels and one control group that did not exercise.

“While the women who participated in the highest exercise group saw the greatest Improvements in most quality of life scales, women in the lowest exercise group also saw improvements,” said Angela Thompson, co-author of the study and research associate at Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, LA. “The public health message is tremendous, because it provides further support for the notion that even if someone cannot exercise an hour or more daily, getting out and exercising 10 to 30 minutes per day is beneficial, too.”

The study’s authors pointed out that many of the women in the study grew up when females did not participate in sports and most had never been physically active before. The research program included a team to teach women how to exercise. The researchers found that physical activity not only provides a better quality of life, but also promotes better balance and stronger bones.

Source: American Heart Association