Dedicating 300 minutes to exercise every week helps postmenopausal women prevent cancer

Dedicating 300 minutes to exercise every week can prove beneficial to postmenopausal women, especially obese ones, in cutting down total fat, which is linked to increased risk of postmenopausal breast cancer, claims a new study.

Christine M. Friedenreich, Ph.D., of Alberta Health Services, Canada, and colleagues compared 300 minutes of exercise per week with 150 minutes per week of moderate to vigorous aerobic exercise for its effect on body fat in 400 inactive postmenopausal women who were evenly split into the two exercise groups.

Average reductions in total body fat were larger in the 300-minute vs. 150-minute group (by 1 kg or 1 percent body fat).

Subcutaneous abdominal fat, as well as total abdominal fat, BMI, waist circumference and waist-to-hip ratio also decreased more in the 300-minute group. Some of the effects were stronger for obese women (BMI greater than or equal to 30) for change in weight, BMI, waist and hip circumference, and subcutaneous abdominal fat, according to the results.

The study concluded that the findings provided a basis for encouraging postmenopausal women to exercise at least 300 minutes/week, longer than the minimum recommended for cancer prevention.