Blog #6: Exercise helps reduce the risk of breast cancer

Summary: Research shows that for women around the world, an hour of exercise can reduce the chances of obtaining breast cancer.  In a study, researchers looked at data on over 4 million women and compared the ones who got the least amount of exercise and those who were most active and found that those who were most active reduced their risk of breast cancer by 12 percent. Physical activity has already shown to help reduce the risks of other types of cancers and heart disease, and researchers gladly added breast cancer to the list. They also found that exercise reduces women’s risk for breast cancer regardless of their age and weight. No matter where a woman is at in life, exercise has shown to be beneficial. Researchers also added that the reduced risk of cancer is not due to weight loss or being fit from a young age, it is just the exercise itself that helps.

Analysis: Researchers say that while exercise is extremely beneficial in reducing the risk of cancer, the full explanation behind it is still unclear. Researchers hope that these findings will give women around the world real motivation to exercise and stay healthy. They say that even small exercise improvements are beneficial. Now that breast cancer is added to the list of cancers reduced by exercise, researchers hope that it will make cities and organizations encourage more exercise on a daily basis. They hope that cities will encourage walking and bicycle friendly areas for people to exercise on. Simply walking or riding a bike more is a small cost to pay to safe large life expenses later.

 Link:

http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=177354