REGULAR SWIMMING BENEFITS WOMEN'S HEALTH.

• Position: Brief Article

A growing body of medical research suggests that regular swimming is particularly beneficial to women's health, possibly even reducing the risks of breast cancer, osteoporosis, and miscarriage. Phillip Whitten, author of The Complete Book of Swimming, indicates that swimming helps pregnant women exercise further into their terms due to the near-weightless environment, making them better conditioned for both delivery and recovery. In the same study, conducted by the Melpomene Institute of Minneapolis (Minn.), researchers concluded that women who swim suffered 75% fewer miscarriages or stillbirths than those who jogged or didn't exercise, Whitten notes.

A report in The New England Journal of Medicine stated that high levels of body fat increased the likelihood that women with a genetic risk of breast cancer would develop it. Women who swim regularly--which reduces body fat--were less...