A New Reason to Do Housework: The Breast Cancer Connection

Here's a new answer to the question, "What did you do today?" When I am asked this question, I usually say "nothing" or launch into the litany of "Dishes, vacuum, laundry, pick up toys, change diapers, dust furniture, fold socks" until the eyes of the person who asked me glaze over. But now I can proudly proclaim that today I reduced my risk of breast cancer.

What did I add to the above list? Not a thing. Scientists have now completed a study that suggests that doing housework is more beneficial than playing sports at reducing breast cancer risk.

One in eight women will develop breast cancer in her lifetime, making this disease the most common cancer next to skin cancer in women. The risk factors for breast cancer are:

* Being a woman. A woman is 100 times more likely to develop breast cancer than a man.

* Aging. The risk of breast cancer increases with age. In fact, fifty percent of women who get breast cancer had no risk factors beyond age and gender.

* Heredity. Only a small (less than five percent) of breast cancer is hereditary, but there is an increased risk in women whose close relatives have had breast cancer.

* Hormones. Breast cancer is clearly linked to hormones. Those who started menstruation early and have a later menopause are at a higher risk for breast cancer.

* Nutrition. A diet high in fat and a tendency toward obesity also increase the risk of developing breast cancer.

* Environmental Toxins. Exposure to radiation as well as smoking and inhaling second-hand smoke are linked to higher risks of breast cancer as well.

It was known earlier that physical exercise could reduce the risk of breast cancer. The thought was that physical exertion created hormonal and metabolic changes that helped protect a woman from getting breast cancer. But it hasn't been clear what type and how much exercise is necessary to reap the benefits of reduced breast cancer risk.

This latest study was funded by Cancer Research UK and followed more than 200,000 women in nine different European countries. These women were both pre- and post-menopausal and the study looked at a range of activities, including work, recreation, and housework. They found that housework reduced the risk of breast cancer more than recreational or sporting exercise.

Pre-menopausal women spent an average of 17.7 hours per week doing household chores like vacuuming, dusting, doing dishes and folding laundry. The post-menopausal group of women spent an average of 16.1 hours per week doing these household activities. During this six year study, researchers learned that doing housework was linked with a 29 percent reduction in breast cancer in pre-menopausal women; and a reduction of 19 percent in the post-menopausal group of women.

Doing any physical activity is beneficial to overall health, and to the reduction of breast cancer risk. But it seems that doing housework type of activities had a greater benefit, perhaps because it is more constant. Playing tennis, walking on the treadmill three times a week, going swimming once or twice a week......those are all great activities for cardiovascular health, overall fitness, and mental health. But it's the repetitive, constant grind of cleaning house that does the most good, according to this recent study.

It is estimated that 230,000 women in the United States and 44,000 in the UK are diagnosed each year with breast cancer. So in addition to monthly self breast exams, and yearly mammograms after the age of forty, let's all start cleaning house.