Exercise Helps You Ward Off Breast Cancer

[Guest guest]

Exercise or at least additional physical activity beyond sedentary

lifestyle has been shown to be protective against certain cancers, as

well as other pathological processes such as CVD. Will CRON alone

enough protect you, will you bet your life on it? Maybe the effects

are additive?

Cooking, Cleaning And Washing Helps You Ward Off Breast Cancer

29 Dec 2006

A study of 200,000 European women has found that doing housework is

more likely to protect you against breast cancer than job- or

leisure-based physical activity.

The study is published in Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention.

The research was funded by Cancer Research UK and led by Petra Lahmann

of the Department of Epidemiology, German Institute of Human Nutrition

Potsdam-Rehbrücke, in Nuthetal, Germany, and a widely constituted

international team of researchers.

While much research extols the virtue of physical exercise as a way to

reduce breast cancer risk, the evidence on precisely what type of

activity is most beneficial is scanty.

Petra Lahmann and colleagues used data on over 200,000 premenopausal

and postmenopausal women aged between 20 and 80, from 9 European

countries.

They used statistical regression models to work out a

metabolic-equivalent rate for the various forms of exercise the women

undertook so that they could compare the " physical activity value " of

the different forms of exercise.

They also took into account demographic, social and medical factors

such as age, age when menstruation started, body mass index,

education, geographical location, alcohol consumption, age at first

pregnancy, oral contraception and hormone replacement therapy.

The women's physical activities were classified into three groups:

recreational, household, and occupational, and a total of all three

was also calculated. The women were followed up over a 6.4 year

period, during which time 3,423 invasive breast cancers occurred in

the group.

The results suggest that total physical activity reduces risk of

breast cancer only in postmenopausal women. However, and perhaps more

surprisingly, housework on its own reduces breast cancer risk in both

pre- and postmenopausal women - the former by 19 per cent and the

latter by 29 per cent. The study found no significant link between

reduced breast cancer risk and either leisure or work-related physical

activity.

The women spent an average of 16 to 17 hours a week on household

chores such as washing, cooking and cleaning.

The researchers mention in the study that their findings on housework

and reduced breast cancer risk are in line with other research, but

point to the low numbers of women in the study who were classed as

" active " in job-related activity as to the possible reason why no link

was found in that area.

Their main conclusion is that this study supports the growing body of

evidence showing strong links between physical activity and reduced

breast cancer risk. This is in line with the general message from

Cancer Research UK who promote taking regular exercise and maintaining

a healthy body weight as the main way to reduce cancer risk.

" Physical Activity and Breast Cancer Risk: The European Prospective

Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition. "

Petra H. Lahmann, Friedenreich, A. Jantine Schuit, Simonetta

Salvini, Naomi E. , Tim J. Key, Kay-Tee Khaw, Sheila Bingham,

Petra H.M. Peeters, Monninkhof, H. Bas Bueno-de-Mesquita,

bet Wirfält, Jonas Manjer, A. , Eva Ardanaz,

Pilar Amiano, José R. Quirós, Carmen Navarro, Carmen ez,

Franco Berrino, Domenico Palli, rio Tumino, Salvatore Panico,

Paolo Vineis, Antonia Trichopoulou, Bamia, Dimitrios

Trichopoulos, Heiner Boeing, Mandy Schulz, Jakob Linseisen,

Chang-Claude, Francoise Clavel Chapelon, Agnès Fournier,

Marie- Boutron-Ruault, Anne Tjønneland, Nina Føns ,

Kim Overvad, Rudolf Kaaks, Elio Riboli.

Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention,

10.1158/doi:1055-9965.EPI-06-0582

Published online first on December 19, 2006

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/healthnews.php?newsid=59874