Cooking, Cleaning And Washing Helps You Ward Off Breast Cancer

[ckramer]

A study of 200,000 European women has found that doing housework is more likely to protect you against breast cancer than job- or leisure-based physical activity.

The study is published in Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention.

The research was funded by Cancer Research UK and led by Petra Lahmann of the Department of Epidemiology, German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbrücke, in Nuthetal, Germany, and a widely constituted international team of researchers.

While much research extols the virtue of physical exercise as a way to reduce breast cancer risk, the evidence on precisely what type of activity is most beneficial is scanty.

The women's physical activities were classified into three groups: recreational, household, and occupational, and a total of all three was also calculated. The women were followed up over a 6.4 year period, during which time 3,423 invasive breast cancers occurred in the group.

The results suggest that total physical activity reduces risk of breast cancer only in postmenopausal women. However, and perhaps more surprisingly, housework on its own reduces breast cancer risk in both pre- and postmenopausal women - the former by 19 per cent and the latter by 29 per cent. The study found no significant link between reduced breast cancer risk and either leisure or work-related physical activity.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/healthnews.php?newsid=5...

============================

Ladies, quit the gym. Go back to the kitchen!

[zanne]

1. And I'll bet string bikinis reduce your cancer risk, too

If that's a real medical report, no doubt it was written by men.

[ckramer]

5. Every husband would love this study

I love you! Now go back to the kitchen !

[lindisfarne]

17. Men can get breast cancer do. Now, hubby, go to the kitchen and clean - I say this with concern for

your health.

[No Exit]

77. New study shows marital fidelity reduces risk of testicular cancer!!

Okay, I just made that up.

As did (IMO) the "researchers" in their "finding" in the lead story.

[Igel]

7. It looks real; written by a horde of folk.

"Physical Activity and Breast Cancer Risk: The European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition."
Petra H. Lahmann, Christine Friedenreich, A. Jantine Schuit, Simonetta Salvini, Naomi E. Allen, Tim J. Key, Kay-Tee Khaw, Sheila Bingham, Petra H.M. Peeters, Evelyn Monninkhof, H. Bas Bueno-de-Mesquita, Elisabet Wirfält, Jonas Manjer, Carlos A. Gonzales, Eva Ardanaz, Pilar Amiano, José R. Quirós, Carmen Navarro, Carmen Martinez, Franco Berrino, Domenico Palli, Rosario Tumino, Salvatore Panico, Paolo Vineis, Antonia Trichopoulou, Christina Bamia, Dimitrios Trichopoulos, Heiner Boeing, Mandy Schulz, Jakob Linseisen, Jenny Chang-Claude, Francoise Clavel Chapelon, Agnès Fournier, Marie-Christine Boutron-Ruault, Anne Tjønneland, Nina Føns Johnson, Kim Overvad, Rudolf Kaaks, Elio Riboli.
Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention, 10.1158/doi:1055-9965.EPI-06-0582
Published online first on December 19, 2006


Looks like the lead author was a woman, and a fair number of the co-authors.

[mrreowwr_kittty]

19. All kinds of stupid studies come out of impressive looking organizations

Right Wing think tanks employ a lot of people with PhDs and fancy titles.

[Porcupine]

24. But it's Science refuting Feminism......

science doesn't stand a chance around here on that contest. Now where science says the Grand Canyon is older than the bible says; that's good science.

You can always test the validity of a scientific paper by seeing if it agrees with your preconcieved notions. Sure you can.

[Igel]

29. The problem is that it doesn't jive with preconceived notions.

Well, at least those of a fair number of people, and that seems to be the reason that people on DU doubt it; the reasoning works both ways. But this just means that if anybody has the time and money they'll try to replicate the results.

I wonder what kind of causal relation they posit, or what factor finds expression as both lower breast cancer rates and increased housekeeping. After all, it's possible that it's not the housework at all that's responsible.

[Porcupine]

40. Association is NOT causation.

I would like to see a study done to replicate results. Around here any refutation of a feminist dogma is attacked with vigor.

I suspect that the cause is reduced stress from women having to manage a job AND a house vs. those managing a house only. It's more likely that entering the workplace with it's lack of ventilation and many more chemical exposures increases cancer risk. But that's not what the study considered.

[lakeguy]

41. yup....

they should do the same study on "stay at home" dads. probably have less colon cancer or something to that effect.

[Igel]

42. No, association isn't causation.

I learned that in junior high (thank you Mr. Eibner!), and I don't think I even hinted that association was causation.

But most researchers when they find an association try to figure out what the causal relationship might be, if there is one, or if both are caused by some underlying factor. That's usually the reason to try to find an association; and if you find one and can't say something interesting about it except "hey, lookee here!", you publish hoping somebody else finds the connection--or tries to replicate your study and fails.

Unless you're in psycholinguistics, in which case there's almost no hope of establishing causality for many things, given the complexity of the system; all you really expect to do is find interesting things to say 'lookee here!' about, or poke holes in the theories of Chomsky and his students. But we hope anyway.


What you say is possible. There are other possibilities, of course.

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

53. "feminist dogma", huh? You mean the idea that women aren't servants?

MKJ

[AngryAmish]

2. I think I'll be printing a copy of this one

I'm lazy.

[BOSSHOG]

3. A very unscientific two cents worth

my stepmother who worked her butt off in and out of the house died of breast cancer at the young age of 57. And she suffered for years before her death. Certainly not disputing the study just sharing a little contrary evidence.

[Quantess]

4. What a load!

Can't they just say that "light to moderate physical activity" reduces cancer risks? But no, they couldn't stop there, could they?

I suppose the best way to prevent prostate cancer is to sit and watch sports.

[wellstone dem]

6. I'm doomed

but fortunately despite the state of my house had a clean mammogram a few weeks ago.

[WePurrsevere]

8. Men can develop breast cancer too. I'll bet housework, etc would work for them just as well.

Anyway... read the whole story... especially the last paragraph or two.

[zanne]

9. There you go!

So, there is justice in the world.

[dipsydoodle]

14. Men can't do housework.

Only women evolved with feet small enough to get close to a sink.

[WePurrsevere]

45. Considering how many men I know with small feet & women with large ones

I don't think that's a valid point but I'll have to remember to tell my husband and our male friend/boarder that it's because their feet are small that they can help do dishes and housework.

[dipsydoodle]

46. That was of course a light hearted remark

but yes - please do look out men with small feet and get them to work in the kitchen.

[WePurrsevere]

48. It's okay.. it was taken in that spirit by me and

I attempted to respond in a similar vein. Sometimes intent and emotions are not always easy to get across both off line and perhaps more so in cyber space.

[zanne]

10. Monogamy wards off prostate cancer.

Well, it probably does.

[mrreowwr_kittty]

20. It actually does ward off cervical cancer

Men who cheat on their wives can give them the human papillomavirus (HPV), which can lead to cervical cancer. Obviously, women themselves should also be monogamous.

[zanne]

11. Asking for directions wards off Testicular cancer.

Somebody stop me before I post again!

[BadGimp]

15. My ex-wife taught me a great deal..

She for instance taught me how to do laundry.

One time she told me that if things got tight I could always break my laundry up into small loads and do it by hand.

I subsequently learned how to manage my sex life using the same technique.

[zanne]

25. Good one! nt

[badgerpup]

26. Oh, you're EVIL...I'm getting the butterfly net.

[DoYouEverWonder]

12. No wonder

my mother is going to live forever.

[Ilsa]

13. Why would I want to live longer to do housework? nt

[NashVegas]

16. I Wonder If They Accounted for Modern Chemicals?

Found in common solvents.

[lindisfarne]

18. The EU has stronger regulations as to what chemicals can be used in household products. nt

[demnan]

21. That is incredible bullshit!

No woman with a brain would even find this credible. Men want women to take care of them. So come home from a full time job, get the kids taken care of and then, feed the husband! Where did Manhood go? I think it is gone! No wonder there are so many divorces, women can't take care of the kids and the husband too when they have to work a full time job. It's just too much.

[Countdown_3_2_1]

22. "Honey, think of it as fighting cancer AND burning calories!"

"And Dear, your hiney will not get any smaller sitting on the couch...
And after your done in the kitchen, polish my shoes, would ya love?"

[Raine]

23. Yeah, right

that didn't save my mother who was a stay at home wife and mother but still died from breast cancer!

[Gemini Cat]

27. Yeah, same here.

[babylonsister]

28. So what happens if you like to cook, but not do laundry and clean?

Dumb.

[Peace Patriot]

30. Instead of a kneejerk feminist reaction (which certainly came first to my mind

--I'll admit it), why not ask, why? Could be arm exercise, or upper body exercise, associated with housework (scrubbing, lifting laundry, washing dishes, etc.). I just did a round of holiday house work--and mostly it gets you in the arms--scrubbing, lifting, reaching--also hands and fingers. If you don't normally use these muscles much--say, you just run, for your exercise, or you work out, but don't want big arm muscles so you don't exercise them that much--you wouldn't get the effect you would get from washing windows, or vacuuming, or polishing a table, or scrubbing-reaching-placing dishes in rack. See what I mean? The study is interesting in this respect--why would house work differ from other exercise? Could it also be squatting or getting on all fours? For instance, pushing the vacuum cleaner under sofas and beds? Some kind of detoxifier? (--fits with yoga practice--getting into odd, and upside down positions, for detox). Another thought occurred to me: satisfaction! You not only exercise, but you end up with a pleasant living space. It truly is satisfying--of mind and body. Also sharing. Running or working out is just for you, whereas housework is generally beneficial to others as well--if not partners and children, then guests. This adds to the satisfaction factor. Could such feelings influence one's immunity to breast cancer?

But I also thought--what might the women with low breast cancer rates, who did a lot of housework, have in common, that was different in the others' lives? Did this study control for such factors? For instance, not having a maid. Do women with maids, or housekeepers, or maid service, perhaps eat differently, or take more medication, or drink more liquor? I presume they tried to control for such factors, but it may be something they didn't think of.

One other thought: I think that we all, both women and men, have some difficulty with feeling loved and valued these days--in our corporatized society, where family and community are much harder to come by, and society (corporate propaganda) emphasizes our money value or our physical beauty (using corporate PR standards), as what we are worth as human beings. Perhaps housework--such a commonplace but necessary thing--makes us feel more valuable in an intimate, human way (like cooking, or childcare). And does this feeling of being of value, in an intimate family-like way, influence immunity to breast cancer?

Hard to measure that--feelings. I'm thinking it may have more to do with TYPE of exercise. But it could be both. The study is interesting and somewhat surprising. Worth thinking about--and worth further study, I think. We feminists rarely mention--and our rushed society often neglects--the impacts that rapid social changes may be having. This is mostly the fault of corporatization. For instance, driving in cars. Biologically awful--worse thing we could do to our bodies; probably responsible for many back problems, and other health problems. Sitting in a bucket seat with no proper back support in the worst sitting position possible--and constantly in danger of our lives--for hours and hours. It's nuts! And we've only been doing it for less than a hundred years. We are designed for WALKING (also for crawling and climbing), and for lots of other physical activity, both rigorous or not. We were NOT designed for endless sitting in a tin can, breathing gasoline and stifling adrenalin reactions to the dangers of driving. So, too, house work (cave work!), agricultural pursuits, cottage industry pursuits (spinning, sewing), cooking (without any labor saving devices, or packaged foods--labor intensive) and caring for children--the traditional pursuits of women, which women have been doing for ten thousand years, at least--in every culture we know about. Men, of course, have this same problem--farmers, hunters, horsemen, craftsmen suddenly turned into bureaucrats, or accountants, or worker-cogs in a manufacturing process. What frustrations--and ILLNESSES--are we all suffering due to over-rapid changes in WHAT we do, in the muscles and capabilities that we use? I am certainly NOT saying turn back the clock. But I AM saying, have a bit of wisdom in judging these things. Be flexible. Be creative. Know who you are, and what you love, and what your body loves. And if your arms say "spin wool," then...find some way to do it! And, if this study is right, you might just be preventing breast cancer.

[ckramer]

33. Imo, it's not just the pure physical exercises in the kitchen that help you

It's also the spiritual aspect of that.

It's a joy to watch your love ones eat the food you cooked, wear the clothes you washed and enjoy the clean sweet home you maintained. In other words, you feel you are needed, and can't do without. You are the backrock of a family.

It's the loving of family that is fighting off any of cancer. Without that kind of happiness, most lonely people would just drop dead and die.

[tanyev]

50. Gosh, then I guess I'm a failure as a woman.

I kind of like cooking, I don't mind doing my laundry (hubby does his own), but I can assure you that nothing would give me more joy than a clean sweet home maintained by a weekly cleaning crew.

[ckramer]

69. Scientists have warned

Now it's all up to you.

[tanyev]

76. I love my family and I find my spiritual fulfillment in other areas

than housework. I stand by my choices.

[Matariki]

38. good thoughts ;-)

[WePurrsevere]

44. Very well put. You're looking at it from a more "holistic" POV and

have made some excellent and I believe valid points that hopefully will be looked into further. If we/science look beyond the surface perhaps there is something in the fine details that can help fight other types of cancer for men as well as women.

[AikidoSoul]

31. Was the study funded by the chemical / pharma industry?

The Chem / pharm industry manufactures chemicals used in cleaning. This study is a crock of shit. Chemical injury from cleaning chemicals is a serious problem because many products are loaded with highly toxic chemicals that were never tested for carcinogenicity.



This is corporate "science"

[ToolTex]

32. Might the results be swayed by wearing a French maid costume to clean house?

[Lorien]

34. The only really relevant paragraph in the article:

"Their main conclusion is that this study supports the growing body of evidence showing strong links between physical activity and reduced breast cancer risk. This is in line with the general message from Cancer Research UK who promote taking regular exercise and maintaining a healthy body weight as the main way to reduce cancer risk".

Regular exercise and a healthy weight will cut most people's risk for most diseases by some margin.I'm sure the results would have been the same if the misogynists who did it had chosen women who cross train at a gym, or participate regularly in sports or activities like dancing.

[orleans]

35. wait! let me go bake a pie and clean the toilet before i post anything here. n/t

[NorthernSpy]

36. why do news organizations always give the science beat to retards?

The results suggest that total physical activity reduces risk of breast cancer only in postmenopausal women. However, and perhaps more surprisingly, housework on its own reduces breast cancer risk in both pre- and postmenopausal women - the former by 19 per cent and the latter by 29 per cent. The study found no significant link between reduced breast cancer risk and either leisure or work-related physical activity.

No, stupid: these paltry correlations are NOT proof of causation -- not even close. We haven't even got a good reason to expect to see such weak "links" replicated in future studies.

[Triana]

37. WTF will they NOT try to get women out of the workforce and back...

...in the home cooking and cleaning and having babies?



This is a crock of laughable bullshit. SICK laughable bullshit.

[puebloknot]

39. Kinder, Kirche, Kuche! nt

[Desertrose]

43. Maybe cause when women do housework, they don't wear tight bras...

There is no way that constricting breasts in tight, pushup, underwire or even tight sportsbras is healthy. Its the swing of the breasts that helps circulate the lymph fluid and keep breasts healthy, but that is a no no in this society.

More breast cancer these days....anyone ever think about what women are doing to their breasts they didn't do 40, 60 or 100 years ago??

just my 2¢

[NashVegas]

49. Waitaminute

What about the 'bra-burning' years?

[NotGivingUp]

63. you are so right! i was going to post this if nobody else did.

[pecwae]

47. Oh, bullshit!

I've done all those things, held down fulltime jobs outside the home and raised two kids. I still got BC, twice, and I'm now post meno and still doing housework daily.

[fasttense]

51. Everyone who eats a pickle will die. Statistics prove it. n/t

[Sparkly]

52. I don't believe this for a second.

A correlation perhaps, but not a cause-effect.

[LeftishBrit]

54. How well controlled was the study?

While they do take into account the age of first pregnancy, it's not clear whether they take into account total number of children. I believe that having lots of children is a protective factor against breast cancer (as well as a risk factor for some other conditions). And obviously women with more children tend to end up doing more housework and cooking.

Also, there may be other health or hormonal factors that affect the likelihood of a woman having breast cancer, and also affect her energy levels for housework, etc.

Another factor that occurred to me: do they separate coooking from other activities? It could be that a woman who does more of her own cooking is on average eating more healthily, and in particular avoiding ingredients that go into 'fast food', some of which might be increasing the risk of breast cancer.

[leesa]

55. Oh for God's sake! I'm sure this was a well-conducted studt that ruled out

all other differences in lifestyle and stress and dietary factors...brother.

[Eurobabe]

56. And who funded this research? Inquiring minds want to know

Hmmm. P&G. No wait - Henckels, no Unilever...

[donsu]

57. there is one thing many women don't know - a healthy breast must

bounce, jiggle, MOVE.

movement makes things in the breast keep from accumulating.

and did you know that when you are losing weight fat and water will go to the breast as a last safe harbor before it leaves your body. and the bouncing and jiggling breast gets rid of the extra fat and water.

a tight brassier worn all the time is not healthy.

[mainer]

58. And women who work at home go bra-less?

That's true for me. I only put on a bra when I leave the house. So maybe you've got something there.

[donsu]

59. I didn't make this up - there are articles on research that says this

nt

[NotGivingUp]

66. i started out that way...now, i just go braless all the time

[NotGivingUp]

67. i've read exactly the same thing. the underwires are the worst.

bras basically suck anyway. talk about being uncomfortable. i just refuse to do it anymore.

[SoCalDem]

75. What if men had to wear Testissiers?

I wonder if they would feel like changing the oil and mowing the lawn ?

[stubtoe]

60. I think maybe they should have included hunting and gathering

in this study. Then it would be more fair and balanced!

[Matariki]

61. This strikes me as a most likely a very flawed study

how did the researcher find so many people who only did one of those three activities? someone who only went to the gym but doesn't work or do housework? And how did they isolate out any other factors to come to that conclusion? and really, the conclusion seems deliberately 'sensational' - why not say moderate exercise versus sedentary and heavy exercise? or people who cook their own meals are likely to eat healthier?

[0007]

62. Clean your shotgun to prevent Dick Cancer, 'eh?

[No Exit]

78. Watching less televised sports reduces risk of prostate cancer!

This has to be true, because I don't know a single guy who reduced his watching of televised sports and got prostate cancer!

[NotGivingUp]

64. for less breast cancer get rid of bras and mammograms

[ChoralScholar]

65. I haven't read it,

but I suspect the study is flawed. There are other common factors in the categories that could be responsible for the increased or decreased factors.

I'll read it and draw my own conclusion.

[NotGivingUp]

68. what a bunch of sexist pigs

[ShortnFiery]

70. Correlation does not prove causation

Sure.

[VegasWolf]

71. I showed this article to my wife. She laughed herself out of the room. nt

[Doctor Venmkan]

72. Studies show that a load of CRAP, even when spoken by "medical researchers"

...is STILL a load of CRAP!

My cousin is a stay at home mom and damn near died of breast cancer when she was thirty-six.

My mother was also a stay-at-home mom most of her life, and died of stomach cancer in 2001...

I call "bullshit."

[Hekate]

73. My Mom was a tireless housewife & she still got breast cancer

You could eat off her floor, as the saying went. I think I'd rather do something else with my time.

Hekate

[SoCalDem]

74. Want Ad