|
|
Volume 3, Issue 4
Exercise and weight training improves outlook for breast cancer patients
Being overweight increases ones risk for heart disease, independent of other risk factors
Exercise helps kids manage their asthma
Help prevent the "muffin top" with strength training
Exercise is as effective as drugs for treating symptoms of major depression
Exercise and weight training improves outlook for breast cancer patients
Exercise is generally one of the last things on the minds of breast cancer patients, who often times feel sick and run down from their treatments. However, a new study recently published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology indicates that aerobic exercise and strength training may be just what the doctor ordered!
Researchers at the University of Alberta gathered a group of 242 women with breast cancer who were just beginning their cancer treatments. They were divided into three groups: strength training, aerobic exercise and ÒusualÓ treatment. Both exercise groups worked out three times a week for one hour. At the end of 17 weeks both exercise groups reported improvements in overall self-esteem and were significantly more likely to adhere to their chemotherapy treatments than the non-exercise group.
1
Being overweight increases ones risk for heart disease, independent of other risk factors
Past research has shown that overweight individuals have higher blood pressure and cholesterol levels, which increases their risk for heart disease. While this is certainly true, new research has found that being overweight can increases one's risk for coronary disease, independent of other factors.
In an analysis of over 21 previous studies, including more than 300,000 participants, 18,000 individuals suffered from heart disease during the studies. When researchers looked at the data they confirmed the notion that high blood pressure and high cholesterol go hand in hand with overweight and obesity. But once they adjusted the data, taking blood pressure and cholesterol out of the equation, individuals who were overweight and obese still had a 17 percent and 49 percent higher risk of heart disease respectively.
2
Exercise helps kids manage their asthma
Children who suffer from asthma often times are wary of exercise, fearing that the breathlessness of exercise will induce broncho-constriction, or an asthma attack. However, it is this fear, not the asthma itself, that can lead to physical de-conditioning. New research shows that regular aerobic activity can improve their cardiopulmonary fitness and decrease their reliance on inhaled steroids.
Researchers followed a group of 38 children with moderate-to-persistent asthma. Participants were split into two groups, an exercise group and a control group. After a 16-week period the exercise group saw significant improvements in exercise capacity, a decrease in asthma attacks, and reduced their daily dose of inhaled steroids by 52 percent.
3
Help prevent the "muffin top" with strength training
As women age the ever-feared "muffin top", or added abdominal fat which has the tendency to spill over the waist of the pants, becomes a pesky problem. Rather than going to the store to look for a larger pants, women looking to prevent an age-associated increase in abdominal body fat should go to the gym to strength train.
In a recent study, researchers divided a group of 25 to 44 year old overweight and obese women into two groups, one participated in twice weekly strength training sessions and the other received informational brochures recommending exercise. After two years, the strength training group had lost four percent of their body fat while the other group lost less the .01 percent. In addition, the non-exercise group saw a 21 percent increase in abdominal fat, while the strength training group saw only a 7 percent increase.
4
Exercise is as effective as drugs for treating symptoms of major depression
Patients who suffer from major depression are often times reliant on a variety of medications. These medications can have undesirable side effects, which can cause patients to become noncompliant. This said, new research out of Duke Medical Center has found that regular exercise can be just as effective as medication in treating some symptoms of major depression.
In the study 202 individuals with major depressive disorder were divided into four groups: group based exercise therapy, home based exercise, anti-depressive medication and a placebo group. In the end, researchers found that the exercise therapy group did just as well as the medication group and the home based exercise groups saw improvements as well, only to a lesser extent. All three treatment groups did better than the placebo group.
5
Sources
1Courneya KS, et al. (2007). Effects of Aerobic and Resistance Exercise in Breast Cancer Patients Receiving Adjuvant Chemotherapy: A Multicenter Randomized Controlled .Trial. Journal of Clinical Oncology , Epub
2Rik PB, et al. (2007). Association of Overweight With Increased Risk of Coronary Heart Disease Partly Independent of Blood Pressure and Cholesterol Levels. Archives of Internal Medicine , 167, 1720-1728.
3Fanelli A, Cabral AL, Neder JA, Martins MA, Carvalho CR. (2007). Exercise Training on Disease Control and Quality of Life in Asthmatic Children. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise , 39, 1481-1486.
4Schmitz KH, Hannan PJ, Stovitz SD, Bryan CJ, Warren M, Jensen MD. (2007). Strength training and adiposity in premenopausal women: Strong, Healthy, and Empowered study. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition , 86, 566-72.
5Blumenthal JA, et al. (2007). Exercise and pharmacotherapy in the treatment of major depressive disorder. Psychosomatic Medicine, 69, 587-96.
|
