don's report archive

by Donald B. Ardell, Ph. D.

Wellness in the Headlines
(Don's Report to the World)

As a competitive athlete who is very fit, I welcome any information about new studies that support the value of exercise. I welcome it because I think exercise, done with sufficient vigor and regularity, is as close to a magic elixir or panacea as we humans are ever going to get. It is NOT a magic elixir, nor is it a panacea, of course, but it is more like one than anything else that exists.

Unfortunately, promoting exercise to the masses is a hard sell. If ten new research projects came out tomorrow that clearly demonstrated exercise helps prevent one disease or another, I doubt if the new findings would make much difference. That is, the people who most need to take up and sustain the exercise habit would still persist in not doing so. At least, that's my sense. What do you think? Do you believe the typical couch potato will be moved to action by another study-or ten additional studies, on the benefits of exercise in preventing/retarding heart disease, cancer or other unpleasantries? Probably not.

In my opinion, people do not exercise day in and day out for the purpose of avoiding something unpleasant, such as breast cancer, years down the road. Instead, most will exercise only if accomplishing a workout (as opposed to the exercise itself) is enjoyable, satisfying, reinforcing and otherwise judged rewarding here and now, in the present. Future payoffs are nice, but the promise of such does not sustain vigorous, sustained workouts as part of a wellness lifestyle. This is particularly true of expectations that are essentially of a disaster avoidance nature, such as expecting you WON'T get some awful disease.

I thought of this the other day when I read of new epidemiological studies identifying exercise as key to breast cancer prevention. Well, that's nice and not surprising, but don't expect big changes in the behavior of women who do NOT already exercise on this account. Obesity prevalence increased by 50 percent between 1991 and 1998 and these epidemiological studies, if done a decade ago, would not have changed these numbers. We need incentives and other strategies, not studies, to support cultural changes sparking new perspectives on exercise by the majority of people who are lifestyle impaired. Some of the worst health results are reported by minority cultures economically and otherwise disadvantaged. An absence of wellness values regarding exercise and related lifestyle matters is a major factor accounting for the fact that 21 percent of African-American children, and more than 21 percent of Hispanic children, are overweight (as compared with 12 percent of non-Hispanic, white children).

How do scientists account for the fact that breast cancer is minimized in women who exercise vigorously? It seems that intensive training alters ovarian hormone production. Female athletes experience anovulation, a menstrual flow marked by much lower estrogen and progesterone hormone levels. Lower levels of hormones turn out to be a good thing, studies show.

What about exercise and breast cancer survivors? There's that exercise panacea again! Well, OK, not panacea -- just a significant factor. A new study done at the University of Alberta suggests exercise, not the usual prescription of rest, sleep and inactivity, is the best course of action AFTER breast cancer surgery. For boosting prospects of survival, exercise is the best "medicine." The Alberta study suggests that fitness is not only associated with longer life but, more important, it "improves quality of life." As noted earlier, positive factors such as better life quality also boosts the chances that former patients will continue to exercise! This, in turn, improves survival, so in effect there is a beneficial cycle at work.

The Canadian findings are reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Of particular interest is the discovery that exercise also had "a beneficial effect on happiness -- 19 additional hours of happiness per week compared to those not exercising. No previous study in cancer survivors has examined the effects of exercise training on happiness."

What the Alberta study suggests is that a wellness mindset is not only its own reward in terms of better morbidity and mortality measures, but that it also offers all manner of payoffs that could be considered both life-saving and life-enhancing.

Be well--look on the bright side of life.

(Note: This essay will be filed in the archives in the PHYSICAL DOMAIN under the skill area of exercise and fitness. Additional articles related to this theme may be found there.)

(Ed. Note: Views expressed in this and other columns are those of the author and not necessarily those of the SeekWellness Editorial Board.)

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