Three Healthy Habits Cut Breast Cancer Risk, New Study Finds

Women who maintain certain so called breast-healthy habits can lower their risk of breast cancer. The three most important healthy habits to do so are the following:

• Engage in regular physical activity
• Maintain a healthy weight
• Drink alcohol in moderation

“Whether or not you have a family history, the risk of breast cancer was lower for women engaged in these three sets of behavior compared to women who were not” said study leader Dr. Robert Grambling, associate professor of family medicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York. Grambling wanted to look at the effects of lifestyle habits on breast cancer risk in particular as he suspect that some women with a family history of breast cancer may believe that their risk is out of their control, which is now contradicted.

To do this, Dr. Gramling and his team analyzed data on U.S. women aged 50-79 from the Women’s Health Initiative study starting in 1993. During the 5.4 years of follow up, almost 2,000 women were diagnosed with invasive breast cancer. This is what he found:

• When following the guidelines, about 6 of every 1,000 women developed breast cancer over a year’s time.
• Circa 7 of every 1,000 women developed breast cancer each year if they had a late-onset family history and followed none of the behaviors.
• 3.5 of every 1,000 women developed breast cancer among the women without a family history who followed the three habits.
• 4.6 of every 1,000 women developed breast cancer among the women without a family history who followed none of the habits.

Gramling hopes that his research will reverse the thinking of women whose mother or sister had breast cancer who sometimes believe that they are doomed to develop the disease, too. And the results are supported by other experts. Dr. Susan Gapstur, vice president of the epidemiology research program at the American Cancer Society, says “The results of this study show that both women with a family history (late-onset) and without will benefit from maintaining a healthy weight and exercising, and consuming lower amounts of alcohol, limiting their alcohol consumption.”
The findings were published online on Oct. 12 in the journal Breast Cancer Research.