Yet another reason to eat healthy and exercise.
Researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle found that by dropping a few pounds, a woman can greatly lower her chance of getting breast cancer.
The study found that women who lost a moderate amount of weight through diet and exercise saw their estrogen and other hormones associated with breast cancer drop as well.
Studies show that fat tissue boosts cancer, causing hormones which can cause breast tumors to develop.
Researchers came to this conclusion through studying 439 overweight and obese women between 50 and 75 years old. The women were divided into four groups. One group dieted. A second group exercised. Another group dieted and exercised and a fourth group did nothing out of the norm.
A year into the study it was discovered that only the group that dieted and exercised had significantly reduced their estrogen levels -- 44%. The weight-loss group lowered their levels by about half that. The group that only exercised saw no decrease in hormone levels.
