Exercise cuts breast cancer risk
Tuesday November 4th, 2014
Women who do the most exercise post menopause are about one fifth less likely to develop breast cancer than those who undertake little activity, according to a new study.
Those
with the most body fat were 55% more likely to develop the disease than
the slimmest, the National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) Cancer Conference
in Liverpool, England, was told yesterday.
However, Professor Tim Key, a Cancer Research UK scientist from the Cancer Epidemiology Unit at Oxford University, England, led the study with PhD student Wenji Guo, told delegates that being physically active appears to help lower breast cancer risk, regardless of a woman’s size.
Their findings are based on a study of nearly 126,000 postmenopausal women whose body fat percentage and self-reported physical activity, as well as other lifestyle factors, were recorded as part of UK Biobank project.
About 1,000 women were diagnosed with breast cancer in the follow-up period of 3 years, which enabled the researchers to study the impact of lifestyle factors on them developing the disease over a relatively short time.
They found that women in the bottom physical activity quartile did no vigorous physical activity that made them out of breath, while those in the top physical activity quartile did an average of at least 15 minutes of vigorous activity every day.
“We’ve known for some time that exercise may help to reduce breast cancer risk after the menopause, but what’s really interesting about this study is that this does not appear to be solely due to the most active women being slimmer, suggesting that there may be some more direct benefits of exercise for women of all sizes,” said Prof Key.
“We don’t yet know exactly how physical activity reduces breast cancer risk, beyond helping to maintain a healthy weight, but some small studies suggest that it could be linked to the impact on hormone levels in the body.”
Alison Cox, Cancer Research UK’s director of cancer prevention, said: “This study confirms that the benefits of staying active go beyond just burning calories, sending a clear message to all women about the importance of being physically active throughout life.
“Resources like UK Biobank are providing scientists with greater insights into how our lifestyle choices affect our body’s inner workings, helping us to improve and tailor the advice we can offer people to help them reduce their risk of cancer.”
Guo W, Reeves G, Key T. Body fat percentage, physical activity and breast cancer risk in 126,000 postmenopausal women in UK Biobank.
Tags: Cancer | Fitness | UK News | Women's Health & Gynaecology
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