Exercising regularly hosts many health benefits
We know there are plenty of benefits to regular exercise, and new research shows that physical activity for more than an hour a day reduces the risk of contracting breast cancer no matter what your age.
Researchers say that compared to the least active women, those with the highest level of physical activity reduced their risk of breast cancer by 12%.
Although the results varied according to tumour type, the overall message was encouraging, the researchers say.
Dr Hannah Bridges, Health Information Lead at Breakthrough Breast Cancer, said: "This is an exciting finding. Breakthrough Breast Cancer recently looked into all the best studies on physical activity and breast cancer with experts across the world, and we also found that there is good evidence that women can reduce their risk of breast cancer by being regularly active. Even better, moderate physical activity counts, which can be things like gardening, housework or a brisk walk – so there are many ways to fit the needed physical activity into your day to day life."
Professor Mathieu Boniol, Research Director at the International Prevention Research Institute, Lyon, France, reported to a press conference the results of a meta-analysis of 37 studies published between 1987 and 2013, representing over four million women. “These are all the studies looking at the relationship between physical exercise and breast cancer risk that have been published to date, so we are confident that the results of our analysis are robust,” he said.
Physical activity is known to have a protective role in other cancers, as well as in disorders such as cardiovascular disease. Although the mechanisms for its effect are unclear, the results are largely independent of body mass index (BMI), so the effect must be due to more than weight control. And the age at which sporting activity starts also appears to be immaterial; the researchers found no indication that breast cancer risk would decrease only when physical activity started at a young age.
“Adding breast cancer, including its aggressive types, to the list of diseases that can be prevented by physical activity should encourage the development of cities that foster sport by becoming bike and walk-friendly, the creation of new sports facilities, and the promotion of exercise through education campaigns,” said Prof Boniol. “This is a low cost, simple strategy to reduce the risk of a disease that currently has a very high cost, both to healthcare systems and to patients and their families. It is good news both for individuals and for policy makers.”
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