|
E-mail this page to a friend!
Fitness & Exercise for Senior Citizens
Senior Citizens Can Begin Exercise and Reduce Risk
of Invasive Breast Cancer
Researchers say it's never too late to start active
lifestyle
 Feb. 15, 2007 It makes no difference how old you
are, researchers say six or more hours per week of strenuous
recreational activity may reduce the risks of invasive breast cancer by
23 percent. Their report in the February issue of Cancer Epidemiology
Biomarkers & Prevention, based on a survey of over 15,000 women, shows
that exercise has a protective effect against invasive breast cancer
throughout a womans lifetime.
| |
Related Stories |
|
| |
Reduced Risk of Breast Cancer Noted in Older Women
with Higher Physical Activity
Physical activity reduces body fat, the major
source of estrogen in postmenopausal women
December 12, 2006 Older women post menopause -
with higher levels of physical activity may have a reduced risk of
breast cancer, according to a report in the December 11/25 issue of
Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. The
association appears to be stronger for estrogen receptor
positive/progesterone receptor negative tumors (which are typically more
aggressive) than for other types of breast cancer tumors.
Read more...
Ten Ideas
to Help Senior Citizens Out of Bed
and into Exercising
Older people know value of exercise but slow to start
Feb. 12, 2007 Virtually every senior citizen
people age 65 and older knows that exercise is extremely beneficial in
building and maintaining healthy bodies and minds. Yet, most fail to do
it. Just getting started may be the biggest hurdle, but the medical
director of the senior care facility claiming to house more 90-year olds
than any other, has ten easy steps that he finds are working to get
older people out of bed and moving.
Read more...
Even if Elderly Have Passed 80 They Can Regain
Physical Function, Avoid Disability
Walking at a moderate intensity 150
minutes a week, leg stretches, balance exercises and leg-strengthening
did the trick
November 17, 2006
Read more
on
Senior Citizen Fitness & Exercise |
|
The results provide further evidence that for most
women physical activity may reduce the risk of invasive breast cancer,
the researchers from the University of Wisconsin Paul P. Carbone
Comprehensive Cancer Center (UWCCC) concluded.
To gain further insights into the mechanisms of
risk reduction for breast cancer, the researchers investigated the
relationship between physical activity and breast cancer risk in a
population-based case control study in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and
Wisconsin.
During structured telephone interviews, the
researchers questioned 7,630 women without breast cancer, 1,689
survivors of in situ, or non-invasive, breast cancer and 6,391 survivors
of invasive breast cancer, all between the ages of 20 and 69. They asked
detailed questions about physical activity, occupation, family history
of breast cancer, menopausal status, and body mass index.
According to the researchers, women who exercised
had a reduced risk of developing invasive breast cancer provided they
didnt have a family history of breast cancer. This reduction in risk
was apparent whether the physical activity took place early in life, in
the postmenopausal years, or in the recent past.
"A woman's hormone levels naturally fluctuate
throughout her life, and we have found that exercise likely offers
protection against breast cancer regardless of a woman's stage in life,"
said Brian Sprague, a UWCCC research assistant and lead author of the
study. "The take-home message for women should be that it is never too
late to begin exercising."
Previous research has linked high levels of
estrogen to an increased risk for developing breast cancer. Women who
exercise heavily are, in general, older at the time of the first period,
and tend to have irregular periods and a shortened estrogen-producing
phase, which translates in a lower body exposure to estrogen, the
researchers say.
Similarly, postmenopausal women who are physically
active have also been shown to have lower levels of estrogen. This
reduction may explain why increased physical activity reduces the risk
of breast cancer, according to Amy Trentham-Dietz assistant professor at
the University of Wisconsin-Madison and member of the University of
Wisconsin Paul P. Carbone Comprehensive Cancer Center. Other potential
mechanisms include prevention of weight gain, regulation of insulin
sensitivity and alterations in immune function.
Taking all these factors into consideration,
"intervention studies assessing the effect of physical activity on
estrogen and other hormone exposure, and other biomarkers of risk would
provide valuable insights on the mechanisms of physical activity in
reducing breast cancer risk," said Trentham-Dietz.
"Further studies of population subgroups are
necessary to gain a better understanding of the relation of physical
activity to breast cancer risk, and to identify the groups most likely
to gain benefit from it," said Trentham-Dietz. "Future research should
also consider household activity in addition to recreational and
occupational activities."
Editor's Notes:
The mission of the American Association for
Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, AACR is
the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to
advancing cancer research. The membership includes more than 24,000
basic, translational, and clinical researchers; health care
professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States
and more than 70 other countries. AACR marshals the full spectrum of
expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the
prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality
scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious
research grants. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 17,000
participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the
field. Special Conferences throughout the year present novel data across
a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment, and patient
care. AACR publishes five major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research;
Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular
Cancer Research; and Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. Its
most recent publication, CR, is a magazine for cancer survivors, patient
advocates, their families, physicians, and scientists. It provides a
forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives
on progress in cancer research, survivorship, and advocacy.
Click to More Senior News on the
Front Page
Copyright: SeniorJournal.com |
