Overweight or obese women can improve their quality of life simply by exercising as little as 10 minutes a day, finds new research.

The study looked at 430 overweight, postmenopausal women who took part in various amounts of exercise each week -- some as little as 70 minutes a week and others as much as 190 minutes a week -- for six months.

Most of the exercise was done in three to four sessions per week. When the women were not enrolled in some kind of organized exercise, they were fitted with pedometers and told to simply go for walks to fill their exercise quotas.

Not surprisingly, the researchers found that those who did the most exercise reaped the most benefits. But even those women who exercised just 10 minutes a day noticed improvements.

The women reported they felt better physically, emotionally and they could perform everyday tasks better, such as climbing stairs and carrying groceries. The women improved:

• almost 7 per cent in physical function and general health,
• 16.6 per cent in vitality,
• 11.5 per cent in performing work or other activities,
• 11.6 per cent in emotional health
• and more than 5 per cent in social functioning.

Some of the women did lose weight over the six months. But the researchers found that it didn't matter even if they didn't; just getting out and about exercising improved their overall quality of life.

"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," said study co-author Angela Thompson, a research associate at Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, La.

The research was presented Thursday at the American Heart Association's Conference on Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism.

"This is the first large controlled study of postmenopausal women to look at the effect of exercise training on the quality of life," added Dr. Timothy S. Church, principal investigator and research director at Pennington. "It shows that exercise gives you energy and makes you feel better."

"Walking a little bit every day will help tremendously," Thompson added. "Walk with your mother, a neighbor or friend. A little physical activity will improve your quality of life."