Daily HealthBeat Tip - March 19, 2007

Breast cancer and a good workout

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

There’s little a woman can do to prevent breast cancer. But women who work out strenuously might lower their odds of getting it.

Women who exercised five hours a week during the years when they could have babies had about a 30 percent less risk of in situ breast cancer – which does not spread. Exercisers had about a 20 percent reduction in their risk of invasive cancer – which can spread.

The statistical look into the lives of California school teachers was in Archives of Internal Medicine, and was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Researcher Leslie Bernstein of the University of Southern California:

"I can’t say that if a woman adopts a physically active lifestyle, that’s going to mean she never gets breast cancer. But on average, it will reduce her risk." (9 seconds)

Learn more at www.hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I'm Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: April, 06 2007