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Hot flashes are the most frequent symptoms of menopause and perimenopause. Hot flashes occur in more than two-thirds of North American women during perimenopause and almost all women with induced menopause or premature menopause, according to the Web Site Webmd.com.

A hot flash, generally accompanied with redness in the face and neck is a momentary sensation of heat which typically lasts from two to thirty minutes for each occurrence. A person also experiences sweating and rapid heartbeat or even chills sometimes, at the time of an occurrence.

A recent study claims that women who experience menopausal hot flashes can prevent it by exercising.

"For women with mild to moderate hot flashes, there is no reason to avoid physical activity for the fear of making symptoms worse," study co-author Steriani Elavsky, assistant professor of kinesiology at Pennsylvania State University, said in a university news release according to Health Day.

"In fact, physical activity may be helpful, and is certainly the best way to maximize health as women age," Elavsky added. "Becoming and staying active on a regular basis as part of your lifestyle is the best way to ensure healthy aging and well being, regardless of whether you experience hot flashes or not."

Researchers followed 92 menopausal women with mild or moderate hot flash symptoms for a period of 15 days for the study. The participants were aged between 40 and 59, and were asked to wear accelerometers which kept a track of their physical activity.

The women weren't taking hormones and were also given devices to wear that measured the moisture of their skin and kept a track of their hot flashes.

Some people might assume that physical activity increases hot flashes because the body gets hotter, Elavsky suggested in the news release. But the study didn't find that was true.

The test results revealed that not everyone could benefit from exercise. Exercise was least effective on overweight women, those who were not physically fit and those who had more intense hot flashes.

Researchers said that they were not sure if exercise would become effective for women if they lost weight or became fit.

The study was released online June 25 in advance of publication in an upcoming print issue of the journal Menopause.