Exercise is instrumental in maintaining a healthy lifestyle.  It’s even said to decrease one’s risk of developing cancer and many other diseases.  While any regular exercise is better than no exercise, a recent study funded by the National Cancer Institute indicates it takes pretty vigorous exercise to lower a woman’s risk of postmenopausal breast cancer, especially if she is overweight.

More than 32,000 women, all postmenopausal, responded to the 11-year-long Breast Cancer Detection Demonstration Project, in which each survey respondent was asked to identify the intensity of their own exercise regimens.  Exercise routines were classified as either vigorous or non-vigorous, for the study’s purposes.

Women who routinely performed vigorous physical activities and who were also of normal weight saw their risk of developing breast cancer decrease by as much as 30%.  Study participants who were overweight or obese and who described their exercise habits as vigorous did not demonstrate more than a slight decrease in risk.

No decreased risk of breast cancer was observed in postmenopausal women getting less than regular, vigorous exercise.

Lead researcher Michael F. Leitzmann, MD, listed the following activities under the vigorous exercise category:  aerobics, bicycling over hilly terrain, chopping wood, competition-level tennis, digging extensively in the garden, fast dancing or jogging, heavy gardening or lawn care, running, strenuous housework such as washing windows or scrubbing the floors, and strenuous sports or exercise programs.

Moderate levels of the following activities, as reported by the study respondents, were categorized as non-vigorous by the research team:  bicycling on flat surfaces, bowling, golf, hiking, routine home repairs, laundry, light jogging or sports/exercise programs, maintenance-level gardening, mowing and raking the lawn, painting, recreational tennis, and routine housework, vacuuming included.

Leitzmann, currently affiliated with the University Hospital Regensburg in Germany, has published his study’s findings in the October 31 issue of the online, open-access journal, Breast Cancer Research.