Exercising regularly may help prevent women from developing uterine fibroids, a new study shows. Fibroids, also referred to as uterine leiomyomas, are benign tumours that grow in the uterus and can cause infertility, bleeding, pain and pregnancy difficulties. They are the leading reason for hysterectomies among UK & US women, Dr Donna Day Baird of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina and colleagues note in the American Journal of Epidemiology.
The more active the women were, the less likely they were to have fibroids of any size. Those who exercised for 7 hours or more weekly had a 40% lower fibroid risk than those who exercised for less than 2 hours a week. Women who did at least 4 hours of vigorous exercise weekly were less likely to develop tumours.
