Lower Breast Cancer Risk with Exercise

Lower Breast Cancer Risk with Exercise

Are you a post-menopausal woman? Would you like to lower your breast cancer risk?  If so, do you have the time and motivation to walk at least an hour a day?  Listen to this. Just walking – something you have done since the age of one – will reduce your risk of breast cancer 14%.

This is really good news since about 60% of adult women report doing some daily walking. If you walk already just make sure to do enough of it to reduce their risk of breast cancer which frightens all women.

Walking seven hours a week is considered moderate activity. Would you like to lower breast cancer risk even further?  Perform more vigorous physical activity. For women engaged in high physical activity the reduction in breast cancer risk is even better at 25%.

These findings were reported in a recent study sponsored by the American Cancer Society and published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers, and Prevention. The researchers studied post-menopausal women taking part in the CPS-II Nutrition Cohort, a study of cancer incidence since 1992. They compared exercise and development of breast cancer in 73,615 post menopausal women.

The link between physical activity and lower breast cancer risk was not affected by BMI, hormone receptor status, or use of hormone replacement therapy.

They discovered that 9% of women reported no recreational physical activity.  Physically active women received the equivalence of moderate-paced walking for 3.5 hours a week. Other moderately intense activities included cycling, aerobics, and dancing. Vigorously intense activities included running, swimming, and tennis.

Not surprisingly, physically active women were leaner, less likely to smoke, and more likely to maintain or even lose weight during adulthood. Interesting, they were also more likely to drink alcohol (perhaps the work hard, play hard mind-set at play there).

These findings suggest that women should be more physically active that current guidelines suggest. Current recommendations only encourage women to only get 2.5 hours of week of moderate activity, or 75 minutes of vigorous activity a week.

Stay physically active if you are already. And if you are not, get active and lower your risk of breast cancer.