COLUMBIA, S.C. — A new study by University of South Carolina researchers indicates aerobically fit women are three times less likely to die of breast cancer than those who seldom exercise.

The latest addition to the growing evidence on the benefits of aerobic exercise is reported in the April issue of the scientific journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.

Researchers from USC's Arnold School of Public Health studied 14,000 women who were given preventive medical exams and treadmill tests from 1970-2001. At the time of their exams, the women, ages 20 through 83, had no history of breast cancer.

Based on the treadmill tests, the women's fitness was classified as low, moderate or high. Researchers compared the fitness levels of the 68 women in the study group who had died of breast cancer through 2003.