Walking May Reduce Risk of Breast Cancer, New Study Finds

Amy Taylor October 07, 2013

Researchers at the American Cancer Society have found that women who do moderate forms of exercise such as recreational walking have lower risk of breast cancer and those who exercise more have bigger protection.

Published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers, and Prevention, findings were based on 73,615 postmenopausal women who took part in the CPS-II Nutrition Cohort study. Researchers looked at the subjects’ breast cancer rates and physical activity levels over a 17-year period and found a significant association between the two.

At the start of the study, about one in 10 women has very poor physical activity level and didn’t engage in any recreational exercise (such as walking) at all. But women who exercised performed physical activities that are equivalent to 3.5 hours of walking at a moderate pace, weekly. Among the subjects, the most common forms of moderate exercise were dancing, aerobics, walking and cycling, and the most common forms of vigorous workout were swimming, tennis and running.

At the end of the study, 4,760 women had developed breast cancer.

Though it is not considered a ‘workout’ by many, according to the researchers, walking seems to be effective in reducing the risk of breast cancer. They found that women who walked at least 7 hours a week had 14 per cent lower risk of breast cancer, compared to those who walked for only 3 or 4 hours a week.

The more the better

The researchers also discovered that the harder the exercise was, the lower the risk of breast cancer. For instance, women who engaged in vigorous exercises had 25 per cent reduced risk of developing the disease.

Regular exercise has also been found to reduce the risk of heart disease – the leading cause of death in the UK and elsewhere.

To stay healthy, the NHS advices adults aged 19-64 to be active daily or spent at least 150 minutes (2 hours and 30 minutes) on moderate-intensity aerobic activities such as fast walking and cycling per week, and perform muscle-strengthening activities that involve all muscle groups on two or more days.

Source of this article:

Walking, Other Moderate Exercise May Lower Breast Cancer Risk