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Fitness & Exercise for Senior Citizens
Older Women Reduce Breast Cancer Risk with Regular
Exercise, Weight Control
High BMI, low physical-activity equals estrogen 50%
to 100% higher
 October 9, 2006 - Postmenopausal women who want to
significantly decrease their breast-cancer risk would be wise to
exercise regularly and keep their weight within a normal range for their
height, according to new findings from the Women's Health Initiative to
be published in the journal Obesity.
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Senior Citizen Health & Medicine
Waist-Hip Ratio Better Measure of Death Risk for
Older People Than BMI
Study finds Body Mass Index not the best indicator
of mortality
August 8, 2006 - Older people with high waist-hip
ratios (WHRs) have a higher mortality risk than those with a high body
mass index, or BMI, a new study reveals. This sheds further light on the
controversial reports about obesity in the elderly and its relationship
as a cause of death. Waist Hip Ratio is calculated by dividing your
waist measurement by your hip measurement. (Read more about WHR below
news story.)
Read
more...
Doctors Should Prescribe Exercise for Older Adults
for Better Health
Less than half report ever getting
suggestion to exercise from doc
October 8, 2006 – Some experts on aging nutrition
are recommending that doctors begin writing prescriptions for exercise
for older people. The rationale is that senior citizens are accustomed
to getting prescriptions from their doctor and using the familiar
concept of a prescription to help physicians incorporate exercise
recommendations into their routine practice will convince more to take
action. Read more...
Middle-Aged Women find it takes more than Diet to
Reduce the Abdomen
Five-year study shows exercise decreased fat cells
by 18 percent
August 7, 2006 – Middle-aged women who participated
in a recent study found that it takes more than diet to reduce the size
of abdominal fat cells – exercise should be added to the program. These
mid-body fat cells are a risk factor for diabetes and heart disease.
Read more...
Read more
on
Senior Citizen Fitness & Exercise |
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The multicenter team of researchers, led by Anne
McTiernan, M.D., Ph.D., of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, found
that women who had the lowest body-mass index, or BMI, and the highest
physical-activity levels had the lowest levels of circulating estrogens,
sex hormones that can fuel breast-cancer growth.
Specifically, they found a significant decrease in
the two most common, biologically active forms of estrogen, estrone and
estradiol, among the most active, lean women studied. The researchers
found that women with high BMI and low physical-activity had mean
estrogen concentrations that were 50 percent to 100 percent higher than
that of women with low BMI and high activity levels.
"Women with high levels of estrogens have a
two-to-four-times-higher risk of breast cancer than women with very low
levels," said McTiernan, a member of the Hutchinson Center's Public
Health Sciences Division and co-investigator of the Women's Health
Initiative Clinical Coordinating Center, which is based at the Center.
"If a woman can keep her own natural estrogens lower after menopause, it
is probably going to be beneficial in terms of reducing her risk of
breast cancer."
The study, based on a random sample of 267
postmenopausal women nationwide selected from the WHI Dietary
Modification Trial, is the first of its kind to examine the dual impact
of body weight and physical activity on levels of various circulating
sex hormones thought to impact cancer risk.
"Other studies have looked at the impact of body
weight by itself or physical activity by itself but this is the first to
look at both together regarding their influence on hormone levels,"
McTiernan said. "This gives us a new understanding that combining weight
control with high levels of physical activity is necessary for keeping
estrogens at a healthy level in postmenopausal women." Exercising
vigorously for 30 to 60 minutes a day, five days a week would achieve
this benefit, McTiernan said.
Editor's Notes:
BMI is a measure of body fat based on height and
weight. The World Health Organization divides BMI into the following
categories for both men and women: underweight (18.5 or lower), normal
(18.5 to 24.9), overweight (25 to 29.9) and obese (30 or greater). A BMI
calculator is available -
click here.
The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services, funded the study, which also
involved investigators from Harbor-UCLA Research and Education
Institute, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, University of
Pittsburgh, University of Florida, University of Southern California and
Northwestern University.
At Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, our
interdisciplinary teams of world-renowned scientists and humanitarians
work together to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer, HIV/AIDS and other
diseases. Our researchers, including three Nobel laureates, bring a
relentless pursuit and passion for health, knowledge and hope to their
work and to the world. For more information, please visit
fhcrc.org.
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