Many African-American women in a small survey said they avoided exercise at least sometimes because it could ruin their hairstyles, researchers reported.

Among 103 African-American women interviewed in a medical center waiting room, 39 said they had kept from exercising at some point because it would interfere with their hair-care practices, according to Amy J. McMichael, MD, of Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C., and colleagues.

On the other hand, half the respondents indicated that they had considered changing their hairstyles to accommodate exercise, the researchers reported online in Archives of Dermatology. Thirty-one said they exercised less than they would like because of their hair.

The findings emerged from a more general inquiry into hair-care practices among African-American women. McMichael and colleagues -- mostly dermatologists -- noted that Americans cite a great many reasons for not exercising as much as they know they should, such as interference from work or household responsibilities and lack of access to appropriate facilities.

"Dermatological barriers are not as well explored in the literature," they wrote, although at least one previous study had found that some African-American women had reported that heavy exercise was incompatible with their hairdos.

To fill this gap, the investigators developed a 40-item survey and sought to administer it to a total of 123 African-American women in a dermatology clinic waiting room. Of those, 20 did not give responses, leaving 103 for analysis. Their mean age was 42 (range 21 to 60).

Only 27% of the respondents said they left their hair natural. Some 62% had adopted a relaxed look, with 18% using weaves or wigs, 22% using hot-combing or flat-ironing, 19% having braids, and 6% using chemical curling (numbers add up to more than 100% because hairstyles could have more than one of these features).

Most of the women reported some problems with their hair or scalp such as strand breakage with normal styling (55%), itching (55%), flaking (32%), hair falling out (23%), and pustules or bumps (10%). About one-third of those reporting itching said it worsened with exercise or heat.

Among the 39 respondents who said they had avoided exercise because of their hair, the following specific problems were cited as the root of the conflict:

• Sweating out the styling: 38%
• Time needed for washing/drying afterward: 22%
• Itching/burning: 5%
• Bumps on scalp: 3%

McMichael and colleagues concluded that there may be a role for dermatologists in helping African-American women exercise more regularly.  Noting the substantial number of respondents with scalp complaints, they suggested that dermatologists should be attentive to such symptoms with their African-American patients.   Moreover, they argued, "dermatologists can discuss hair management strategies that facilitate routinely performing exercise."

The researchers reported some limitations to the study. It may not be generalizable to African-American women in other parts of the country, they noted. Also, because respondents were recruited in a dermatology clinic, individuals with hair and scalp complaints may have been overrepresented.

Moderate to intense exercise and maintaining a healthy weight has been linked to a lower risk of breast cancer found a study conducted by the University of North Carolina’s Gillings School of Global Public Health and published in the journal Cancer.  The results still held up if women did not actively exercise in their younger years, but started a regimen later in life.

The Long Island Breast Cancer Study Project looked at the relationship between breast cancer and the environment.  Researchers studied more than 3,000 women between the ages of 20 to 98, half with and half without breast cancer.  Women who exercised 10-19 hours a week were 30% less likely to have breast cancer versus those who did not exercise.  Women who exercised during their reproductive years had the greatest benefit: a 33% reduction of breast cancer risk compared to those who did not exercise during their reproductive years.  Postmenopausal women who exercised experienced a 30% reduction in breast cancer risk compared to postmenopausal women who did not exercise.

More exercise even further reduces the risk of breast cancer.

Researchers have not definitively concluded how the link works, but they point to the decreased weight that occurs with regular exercise.  Being overweight is linked to higher rates of cancer potentially because hormone levels and inflammation is increased in overweight people.

Conversely, gaining weight increases the risk of breast cancer.  Non-active women who gained more than 6.5 pounds during their adult years raised their risk of breast cancer by 28% versus non-active women that did not gain weight.  Women who did exercise, but still gained weight had an increased risk of breast cancer compared to non-active, normal weight women meaning that gaining too much weight negates the benefits of exercise.

The results held up even when factors that may affect a participant’s breast cancer risk were accounted for.  These include the use of oral contraceptives, smoking, number of pregnancies and a family history of breast cancer.

“If you’re postmenopausal, and you have not been active, it’s not too late to get started,” lead researcher Lauren McCullough says.

You can still reduce your risk of breast cancer.  Exercise can benefit any age even if weight loss does not occur.

Researchers conclude that physical activity 10-19 hours per week during reproductive and postmenopausal years may have the greatest benefit in decreasing the risk of breast cancer.

Sources:

MSNBC: http://todayhealth.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/06/25/12401665-exercise-linked-to-lower-breast-cancer-risk?lite

Cancer: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cncr.27433/abstract

Results of a recent study in Preventive Medicine showed that compared to men, women are at greater risk for comorbid metabolic syndrome, depression and high homocysteine levels, thus prompting researchers to conclude that women must become more active in order to decrease their risk for disease.

Researchers analyzed data from the 2005-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, which included 1,146 people in various regions.  Those studied were older than 20 years old and not pregnant.  Participants wore an accelerometer (a device that measures both intensity and frequency of physical activity) for at least four days, ten hours per day to measure physical activity.  To measure depression, participants completed a survey and underwent a depression evaluation. Researchers measured homocysteine via non-fasting blood samples.  They also measured waist circumference, triglycerides, HDL-cholesterol, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, glucose, folate and vitamin B-12 in order to assess metabolic syndrome.

Defined by the American Heart Association/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, patients have metabolic syndrome when diagnosed with three or more of the following: high waist circumference (≥102 cm for men, ≥88 cm for women), high levels of triglycerides (>150 mg/dL), low levels of HDL cholesterol (<40 mg/dL for men and <50 mg/dL or those taking cholesterol lowering medications), high blood pressure (≥130 mm Hg systolic or ≥85 mm Hg diastolic or those under medication lowering blood pressure) and high fasting glucose levels (≥100 mg/dL or those taking insulin or pills for diabetes).  These conditions increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke and diabetes.

Results of the study revealed a stronger association between physical activity and comorbid metabolic syndrome, depression and high homocysteine for women compared to men. Researchers concluded that there was an inverse association between regular exercise and the three co-morbidities. The results prompted researchers to prescribe physical activity not only to reduce the conditions involved with metabolic syndrome, but also to reduce depression, which indirectly reduces metabolic syndrome since depression can aid in forming conditions of metabolic syndrome.

According to the Illinois Women’s Health Registry, when asked how women would classify their levels of activity throughout the day, 16% reported as very active, 59% as moderately active, and 24% as sedentary. At the very minimum, the CDC recommends 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week, or 21.4 min/day.  Female participants included in the study exercised 4.3 minutes less per day than recommended by the CDC, and one in four Illinois women report no exercise.  To reduce the chance of metabolic syndrome and the other co-morbidities, women must start exercising more.

Additional Sources:

Accelerometers in Obesity

CDC

A new simulation model predicts weight changes with varying diets and exercise plans.  Researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have created a mathematical model — and an accompanying online weight simulation tool — of what happens when people of varying weights, diets and exercise habits try to change their weight. The findings challenge the commonly held belief that eating 3,500 fewer calories — or burning them off exercising — will always result in a pound of weight loss.

Instead, the researchers’ computer simulations indicate that this assumption overestimates weight loss because it fails to account for how metabolism changes. The computer simulations show how these metabolic changes can significantly differ among people. Findings are published Aug. 26 in a Lancet issue devoted to obesity.

However, the computer simulation of metabolism is meant as a research tool and not as a weight-loss guide for the public. The computer program can run simulations for changes in calories or exercise that would never be recommended for healthy weight loss. The researchers hope to use the knowledge gained from developing the model and from clinical trials in people to refine the tool for everyone.

“This research helps us understand why one person may lose weight faster or slower than another, even when they eat the same diet and do the same exercise,” said Kevin Hall, Ph.D., an obesity researcher and physicist at the NIH, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disorders (NIDDK)  and the paper’s first author. “Our computer simulations can then be used to help design personalized weight management programs to address individual needs and goals.”

The online simulation tool based on the model enables researchers to accurately predict how body weight will change and how long it will likely take to reach weight goals based on a starting weight and estimated physical activity. The tool simulates how factors such as diet and exercise can alter metabolism over time and thereby lead to changes of weight and body fat.

To test the model, the researchers compared predicted weight changes to actual changes in people. For example, the team found that people’s bodies adapt slowly to changes in dietary intake. They also found heavier people can expect greater weight change with the same change in diet, though reaching a stable body weight will take them longer than people with less fat.

The model also points to a potential simplified method to approximate weight loss in an average overweight person. An adult who has a body mass index (a measure of a person’s weight in relation to his or her height) between 25 and 29.9 is considered overweight. One example: For every pound you want to lose, permanently cut 10 calories from your current intake per day. At that rate, it will take about one year to achieve half of the total weight loss, and almost all of the weight loss will have occurred by three years. This calculation shows how long it takes to achieve a weight-loss goal for a single permanent change of diet or exercise. Researchers can use the web simulation tool to plan for a phase of more-rapid weight loss followed by a weight maintenance phase. People should consult with their physician prior to embarking on a diet plan.

“This research illustrates how the interdisciplinary skills of NIH scientists, like a physicist doing obesity research, can help lead to innovative ways to test, understand and treat a major public health epidemic,” said NIDDK Director Griffin P. Rodgers, M.D. “Advancing research from the laboratory to the bedside enables us to make the discoveries that can better people’s lives.”