Diet and Exercise Are Not Just for the Overweight

Survival after breast cancer has been treated depends on three factors: physical activity, obesity, and diet. All three have been shown to be independently associated with length of survival. But now a study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology has explored the interactions between the factors.

Almost 1,500 women diagnosed and treated for early-stage breast cancer were enrolled within 4 years of diagnosis. They completed food frequency questionnaires and reports on their physical activity at regular intervals over the next 6+ years.

There were 118 breast cancer deaths in the group. Analysis showed that, for women who ate 5 or more servings of fruits and vegetables a day and reached the equivalent of 30 minutes brisk walking 6 days a week, mortality was significantly lower – almost half that of those who did neither. What’s interesting is that this reduction in risk was seen in both obese and nonobese women; so long as they stuck to a healthy lifestyle, there was no apparent effect of obesity on survival. That’s good news for overweight women faced with life after cancer.