Gadget Performance

The latest issue of the journal Breast Cancer Research, carries a study from the National Cancer Institute. Over the years, there has been an accumulation of evidence that overweight women who have been through the menopause have increased risks of breast cancer. What was less clear were the potential benefits of physical exercise. This study examined the lifestyles of some 32,000 women through a questionnaire requesting details of their physical and leisure activities. This moved up from the more routine housework, through activity levels required in the workplace, to hobbies and interests involving activity. After collecting this information, these women were monitored for breast cancer and death over a period of some eleven years. Some 4.7% were diagnosed with breast cancer during this period. But there was a strong trend to show that a high total level of vigorous activity reduced the risk of the cancer developing. This trend was the most pronounced in women with a BMI of less than 25. So the first step in risk avoidance is the reduction of weight through a healthy diet and, where appropriate to keep the motivation going, the use of an appetite suppressant drug such as acomplia. Exercise also helps in the reduction of body fat so devising a combined program with all three elements balancing each other produces the best results. It's important to recognize that the results find no reduction in risk through gentle exercise. Nor does exercise help where the BMI is above 25. It seems that women who are "lean" and who exercise vigorously achieve the benefit regardless of whether their efforts reduce their body weight. It's an effect achieved because of the way their metabolism levels increase, not because they lose weight. The moral of this research is therefore clear. Post-menopausal women should first reduce their BMI to below 25, and then they will see the benefit from vigorous exercise. For the record, the clinical evidence from the drug trials shows that those who use acomplia lose an average of 10% of their body weight. This, when combined with a diet, can be the fastest way to get the BMI down below the target. Once the BMI has reached 25 or less, there must be continuing vigorous exercise. If you think of housework, forget the use of modern convenience tools such as vacuum cleaners and washing machines. Scrubbing the floor and washing those sheets and blankets by hand are vigorous. Anything else in the housekeeping stakes is too gentle to have any effect. If you move out into the garden you are digging not pottering around with a hoe prodding at the ground and, when it comes to sports, you have to be strenuous. Cycling on the flat is out, find some hills to climb. Don't just line dance, get into jiving. If you prefer a gym, go for aerobics. Then you will live a longer and healthier life. If you combine this with a diet and acomplia, the overall effect on your health will be enhanced.