ORLANDO, Fla. (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Eating healthy and exercising can help save breast cancer survivors' lives.

According to a new study, eating at least five fruits and vegetables a day and exercising for 30 minutes a day, six times a week can reduce the death rate for breast cancer survivors by about 50 percent, regardless of their weight.

"This study says if [overweight people] exercise and eat well, they don't have the increased risk from weight," John Pierce, Ph.D., the lead author of the study, told Ivanhoe. "The key is that you must do both," Dr. Pierce said.

Researchers followed about 1,500 women diagnosed with early stage breast cancer for between five and 11 years. The average age of women in this study was 50. Participants had completed their primary cancer therapy prior to enrollment in the study. Researchers found only 16 percent of women who were obese were both physically active and had a healthy diet, compared to 30 percent in the rest of the study population. Those who ate a healthy diet and were physically active were approximately twice as likely to survive through the follow-up period than the rest of the study group.

"It's hard for everybody to lose weight, whether you're a breast cancer survivor or not. Some women don't lose a lot of weight, but if they're able to make these changes, then we're encouraged that if they can adopt these behaviors they can lower the risk for them, even though they may still remain overweight," Cheryl Rock, Ph.D., R.D., a co-author on the study told Ivanhoe.

Dr. Rock says making these changes is fairly easy, and they should be made habitual. For exercise, she suggests scheduling it like you would an appointment. "That commitment, making it in your plan and in your schedule, means that you're far more likely to do it," Dr. Rock said. "Once you do it, it makes your body feel good and it becomes very self-reinforcing and habituated, like brushing your teeth; it's just something you do and you can't imagine not doing it." Dr. Rock advises adding vegetables to what you already eat. "If you get pizza, go heavy on the tomato sauce and add some vegetables. If you're making pasta, then put in extra vegetables. If you're having cereal in the morning, add some fruit," she said.

"It's a wonderful message for breast cancer survivors, who comprise the largest number of cancer survivors in the United States. Our initial survival rates are very good right now for breast cancer, but in the long run they still carry a higher risk for having a new cancer or a recurrence," Dr. Rock added.