A new way to be motivated for breast cancer prevention!

Few would argue with the statement that increasing fruits and vegetables and increasing activity are a good idea, but many would argue that adopting those new habits are difficult.  We have seen that the two activities help you reduce your chance of getting breast cancer.

A new study in the Archives of Internal Medicine may be helpful for those looking for motivation http://archinte.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1170044.  These researchers found 204 adults between 21 and 60 years who admitted to an unhealthy lifestyle (too much fat and too little fruit and veggie intake, sedentary leisure time over 200 minute a day and little or no exercise).

They then formed 4 intervention groups:

1. increasing fruits and veggies with increasing physical activity
2. increasing fruits and veggies with decreasing sedentary time
3. decreasing fat intake with increasing physical activity 
4. decreasing fat intake with decreasing sedentary time

And guess which group was most successful at adopting and maintaining the new healthy habits?  The group that was the most successful was the one that set out to:

• increase fruits and veggies intake and decrease sedentary time

Apparently it is all in how you think of it.  If you have trouble getting started with that exercise program, evaluate your leisure sedentary time and just decide not to sit so much.  Adding more fruits and vegetables was apparently more empowering in the study since 89% said doing that made them feel like they could maintain the changes in lifestyle.

For early detection today, a reminder.  I blogged last week about how SBE, CBE and mammography followed by other studies for some, could lead to early detection.  It is important to remember that they are not mutually exclusive, but everyone of these is part of the full screening exam.  If your mammogram is benign, that is great, but only part of the answer for early detection.  We still recommend Clinical Breast Examination (CBE by your doctor) and if your mammogram shows dense breast tissue, you may also benefit from a whole breast sonogram.

Together we can prevent 86,000 breast cancer cases each year!

This content is general and not personal medical advice.