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The
following are articles taken from our bimonthly newsletter, The
Buzz. If you would like to subscribe to the electronic or hard
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Exercise
vs. Breast Cancer Book excerpt
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Exercise
is important for cardiovascular health and for preventing
osteoporosis and heart disease – and, probably, breast
cancer.
A
study by Leslie Bernstein at the University of Southern
California came out in the fall of 1994 demonstrating that
women who participated in four or more hours of exercise
a week during their reproductive years have a 58 percent
decrease in breast cancer risk. This is very exciting because
it is one of the first lifestyle changes that has been shown
to decrease risk.
The
mechanism is hormonal. The study showed no association at
all between body mass index, weight or height, and breast
cancer risk. In fact, studies of body mass and breast cancer
risk among premenopausal women are consistent in showing
that obesity is not a risk factor for breast cancer at young
ages. There is a correlation in young girls, however, with
moderate exercise and alterations in menstrual cycle patterns
and ovulatory frequency . . .. A prospective cohort study
of Norwegian women aged 20-24 found that consistently active
women had 37 percent less breast cancer than consistently
sedentary women.
A
good, long-term prevention approach would be to increase
adolescent athletics and thus get girls into the habit of
exercising. Rose Frisch of Harvard Medical School and Harvard
School of Public Health has also shown that women who were
involved in athletics during high school and college have
a decreased risk of breast cancer.
As
a result, a proposal has been very seriously put forth that
I find delightful: put increased funding into high school
athletics for girls. This would be likely to decrease breast
cancer and also strengthen bones and prevent future osteoporosis
and it would help to prevent heart disease. The next generation
of women could probably dispense with the need for postmenopausal
hormones for prevention if we could increase the exercise
levels in girls and adolescents. (One caution in all this.
There has been a near epidemic of eating disorders among
teenage girls desperate to conform to our culture’s
“thin is beautiful” image. “Low-fat”
doesn’t translate to “no food,” and to be
beneficial, exercise requires a well-nourished body. Breast
cancer will not be a big issue if a girl has so badly damaged
her body with starvation that she doesn’t live long
enough to worry about it.)
Exercise
in adult women is undoubtedly of value as well, in terms
of a number of health concerns, although its effectiveness
in terms of breast cancer is less clear. Besides, when you
exercise every day you get to feel morally superior.
From
Dr. Susan Love’s Breast Book by Susan M. Love,
MD
Copyright © 1995, 1991, 1990 by Susan
M. Love, MD.
Reprinted by permission of Perseus Books Publishers, a member
of Perseus Books, L.L.C.
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Parents
Set the Stage for an Active Lifestyle
My parents weren't athletes, but they were and still are my athletic
mentors and biggest supporters. They had always encouraged me
athletically, but the defining moment for me was when I was in
fourth grade and they gave me a choice: watch my brother play
soccer or play soccer myself. This was before Title IX and athletic
female role models. The choice was obvious, and such was the beginning
of my involvement in sports that included playing NCAA soccer
and continues today in my participation in various running and
triathlon races.
Women
participating in sports were an anomaly when I started playing
soccer. As a result, my parents, particularly my mother, were
my mentors.
While
not an athlete herself, my mother encouraged me to run every day,
coached two of my soccer teams, and with my dad, cheered me on
at every game. She taught me good sportsmanship, to be gracious
in victory and defeat, to respect my teammates and opponents,
and to thank those who support me. My mom also consoled me when
we lost and celebrated with me when we won.
With
my parents' support, I developed such self-confidence that I felt
that I could do anything. Their confidence in my abilities has
enabled me not only to try different things but also to succeed
beyond my expectations.
So,
what's the point of all this? You don't have to be an athlete
to mentor your daughter, sister, or friend. Your enthusiastic
support towards her athletic endeavors is what really counts.
By
Karen Kistler
SANDI,
ANNEKE AND ALLIE: A MOTHER-DAUGHTER JOURNAL
Partfour
in a series, the following is an excerpt of the journal of Sandi,
Anneke and Allie, a mother and two preteen daughters who are helping
each other to start and maintain an exercise routine.
With
our journal series we bring you the challenges and accomplishments
of an average woman: someone who, like all of us, balances a life
full of work, play, friends, family and occasional struggle.
We
hope you find inspiration in their daily endeavors, and perhaps
decide to try something new and challenging yourself!
February
22: (Sandi) I feel like I am on a roll, going to the gym on
average four times a week. I am mostly running on the treadmill,
doing a short weight workout, and getting in a long stretch session.
It is really helping me unwind after working 8 to 5, and spending
the evening with the family, which often includes household chores
and homework.
The
workouts with Anneke and Allie have dwindled down to nearly none.
They both still have their volleyball and ballet, but I know that
they need more cardiovascular exercise.
February
23: (Sandi) I started working with a dance team on an Easter
production. I realize how much I have missed creative movement.
There may be an opportunity for Anneke, Allie, and I to all be
a part of a dance for a Passover celebration. I hope it pans out.
February
24: (Sandi) My enthusiasm for the gym is waning. It is a real
struggle to get there the last couple of days.
March
2: (Sandi) My grandfather died unexpectedly on the 25th. I
flew out to his funeral in Arkansas on the 28th. I am so glad
I got to go be with his wife and to say goodbye. There were a
lot of people around much of my four-day stay there. I was able
to deal with the close quarters by getting outside for a solo
run.
March
9: (Sandi) What a week! I was laid off from my job as an accounting
clerk. I was halfway expecting it, but it is still hard to believe.
It will be strange to wake up Monday morning and not have anywhere
to be.
March
16: (Sandi) One day I thought I would shake things up and
do a circuit. I ran for a half mile, stopped and did crunches
and push-ups. Ran another half mile, stopped and did more abs
and arms. I repeated that a couple of times and hated every minute
of it.
When
I was employed, I enjoyed and looked forward to my workout time
because I didn’t have a whole lot of time to myself during
the day. My workouts were a time to get away from it all and do
something for me. Now that I have practically all day to myself
I have no desire to work out.
March
23: (Sandi) Today was the first rehearsal for the Passover
celebration. Anneke, Allie and I are doing an Israeli dance together
and we are having so much fun!
March
28: (Sandi) Allie is doing a great job in ballet. They are
preparing for a June recital. Rehearsals are like a team sport
without the competition, everyone doing their own part but working
together to create one work. It is so great to see Allie blossoming
in her talent!
March
30: (Anneke) Yesterday, we performed our Israeli dance during
the Seder feast. It was so fun, by the time we started to do the
dance everyone started to join in. By the end of the night I had
decided that I wanted to start up ballet again.
April
10: (Anneke) Today in gym we were put to the test on our running
skills. The assignment was to run a mile around our school track.
A few of my friends and I stuck together and ended with a time
of 12 minutes and 40 seconds. I was kind of disappointed but then
again, I did speed walk most of the time.
April
13: (Anneke) Today I did a lot of walking. First, I was tired
of being cooped up in the house so I decided to go rollerblade.
My parents needed to go to storage, which is a half mile away
from our apartment. I figured it would be a good chance for me
to get outside. Later, after dinner, my family went to the rec
room. While my dad and sister drove, my mom and I walked. We got
a chance to walk three quarters of a mile uphill. For a total,
I walked a mile and ¾ today!
April
14: (Anneke) Today it was a gorgeous day out! So my mom and
I went on a walk. We went out of the college and around the surrounding
streets. During our walk we added up it up and found that we walked
for a whole mile and a quarter. And by the way, my legs haven’t
been sore from yesterday. That’s a good sign!
April
14: (Sandi) I have been enjoying the many walks with Anneke
and Allie. Also, I have been interviewing with a company who is
very much into fitness and health and have gone on several “walking
interviews” around Boston Commons and Public Gardens.
April
14: (Allie) Today and the week before that, I went rollerblading
around my neighborhood. Since we are having such nice weather
here, I hope that I can get outside and exercise more.
April
15: (Sandi) Wow, what a day we had!! The three of us girls
took to the big city to see the first runners of the Boston Marathon
come in. It was incredible to be there to witness the crowds,
fanfare, and the awesome athletes.
It
was truly inspiring for me; I went home and ran my own personal
5K!! Maybe next year I will be one of the participants.
Taking
Time to Move: Making Time for Yourself
Executives
at Cigna Corporation had a mystery on their hands. They’d
spent big bucks installing an onsite fitness center for their
employees. The center was convenient, beautiful, and free to employees.
The male employees were using it. But the women, by and large,
were not. In 1997, Cigna hired the Melpomene Institute, a nonprofit
serving women’s motivational and informational health needs,
to find out why.
The
answers probably sound familiar. Women said they’d feel self-conscious
exercising in front of male co-workers, and they worried that
they’d feel unprofessional going back to work flushed from
a workout. Women who’d tried starting an exercise program
said it was hard sticking with it. Most of all, they didn’t
feel they had the time to exercise, even if a convenient facility
was available. They were already giving 100% at home and 100%
at work; there just didn’t seem to be enough hours in the
day to make a commitment to their own health, too.
Inactive
women saw their busy work and family lives as a bigger obstacle
than active women did. Inactive women also had unrealistic expectations
about how quickly exercise would reshape their bodies. When their
results didn’t live up to their expectations, they’d
have a strong temptation to give up.
Based
on the study’s results, Melpomene used a Blue Cross and Blue
Shield Foundation grant in 2000 to create a program designed to
help inactive women overcome these obstacles. Melpomene’s
goals in developing the program were to inform women about the
benefits of physical activity, nutrition and a balanced lifestyle
and show them realistic ways to fit activity into their daily
routines.
The program, called Taking Time To Move, provided personal instruction
in a small group setting. Once a week for 12 weeks, sessions were
held at lunchtime, with the women bringing a brown-bag lunch to
eat during the discussion. Participants worked with a personal
trainer to set goals, talk about challenges, and brainstorm solutions.
The trainer provided hard facts about nutrition and fitness, and
sessions included time for exercise practice, as well.
“Finding
Balance Through Strength and Movement,” a 100-page resource
manual developed by Melpomene especially for the program, summarized
lessons and provided worksheets for participants.
As
they got to know each other, group members supported each other
all week long, not just during meetings. They learned they could
break their daily exercise goals up into several short sessions,
and they began finding creative ways to exercise.
Where
before participants would go out for lunch, now they organized
healthy brown-bag potlucks and ate onsite, leaving time to for
a brisk hallway walk after lunch. They learned to make family
time active time.
“I’m
more active with my kids,” said Cindy Warren, a participant
in the test phase of the program, “throwing balls for rebounds,
things like that.”
Perhaps
most importantly, the women got reinforcement from the trainer
and from each other, proving that taking time for themselves didn’t
mean taking time away from their families or their jobs.
Melpomene
is currently in the process of making Taking Time to Move available
to more organizations. If you’d like help motivating yourself
and your co-workers to be more active, contact Melpomene at (651)
642-1951 or via the website at http://www.melpomene.org.
By
Ann Haarman,
Melpomene Institute
May
is National Physical Activity Month,
and May 1st is National P.E. Day!
Visit P.E. for
Life: http://www.pe4life.com to pick up some ideas for fun
fitness celebrations!
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