Skip to main content

Walking may cut breast cancer risk in older women.

Older women who walk every day may reduce their risk of developing breast cancer. And those who exercise vigorously may get even more protection, according to new research.
The study of more than 73 000 postmenopausal women found that walking at a moderate pace for an hour a day was associated with a 14% reduced breast cancer risk, compared to leading a sedentary lifestyle. An hour or more of daily
strenuous physical activity was associated with a 25% reduced risk, the study found.
This is welcome news for women who aren't very athletic.
"The nice message here is, you don't have to go out and run a marathon to lower your breast cancer risk," said study researcher Alpa Patel, senior epidemiologist at the American Cancer Society, which funded the study.
"Go for a nice, leisurely walk an hour a day to lower your risk," Patel advised.
Breast cancer is the leading cancer among women. In the United States, about one in eight women will develop the disease in her lifetime.
Encouraging message
The women who reported moderate exercise walked about three miles an hour, or about a 20-minute mile. The more vigorous exercisers participated in such activities as fast walking – about 4.5 miles in an hour, the equivalent of a
light jog, Patel said – moderate cycling or lap swimming.
For the study, published online in Cancer Epidemiology,Biomarkers & Prevention, Patel and her team identified more than 73 000 women past menopause who were enrolled in an
American Cancer Society study on cancer incidence.
When they enrolled in 1992, the average age was nearly 63.
The women completed a questionnaire about medical,environmental and demographic factors at the start and repeated the reports every two years between 1997 and 2009.
The study participants also reported on their physical activity and time spent sitting, including watching television and reading, and reported any diagnosis of breast cancer.
During the follow-up, which was roughly 14 years, 4 760 women developed breast cancer.
The researchers compared the exercise habits of women who developed breast cancer and those who did not. About 9% never participated in physical activity, while about half reported walking as their sole activity.
Those who walked seven hours or more a week, even without engaging in other recreational physical activity, reaped protective benefits compared to those who walked three hours or less a week.
The message is encouraging, Patel said.
A reachable goal
However, the study only found an association between moderate exercise and reduced breast cancer risk, not a direct cause-and-effect relationship.
While other studies have found that exercise lowered risk of breast cancer more for women with a lower body mass index (BMI) a calculation of body fat based on height and weight this study found the effect held regardless of BMI, weight gain in adulthood or use of postmenopausal hormone therapy.
Other studies have found a link between time spent sitting and breast cancer risk, but Patel's group did not find this link.
This is "a good news study for women," said another cancer expert, Dr Laura Kruper, who was not involved with the research.
The findings add to the accumulating evidence about exercise lowering breast cancer risk, and present a goal that is reachable for most women, said Kruper, co-director of the breast cancer programme at the City of Hope Cancer Centre
in Duarte, California.
"This is something nearly every woman can do," Kruper said of exercising moderately for an hour daily.
"This is not running a marathon," she said.
Her advice to sedentary women who want to reduce their breast cancer risk: "If you get off the couch and walk around,it would help."
Why does exercise appear to lower breast cancer risk? The mechanism is mostly hormonal, Patel said. Breast cancer risk is affected by lifetime exposure to oestrogen, with more exposure increasing risk. Older, physically active women
have lower levels of oestrogen than their sedentary peers.
Besides exercising, women who want to reduce breast cancer risk should maintain a healthy body weight, Patel said, and if they drink, they should limit alcoholic beverages to no more than one daily.
More information
To learn more about risk factors for breast cancer, visit the American Cancer Society.
www.josiahdele.blogspot.com

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

WZoneLite – A Pretty Cool WooCommerce Amazon Affiliate Plugin .

Everyone wants to make a million dollars by being a blogger. The promise of riches and internet fame is a big draw to doing it for a lot of people, and I’m sorry to say that the reality of being a blogger (even a professional blogger!) is not quite…as financially lucrative as all that. But that’s not to say that it  can’t be –one of the best ways to start your empire is with an Amazon affiliate plugin. For me, the Amazon Associates program has been one of the biggest earners for me over the years. Not only are there CPM ads like Google Adsense (you know, the normal banner ads we all love to hate), but any time someone clicks a link from your site, you get a percentage of  anything  they buy while the token from your site lasts in their browser. If they buy a song, you get a few cents. If they buy a new MacBook Pro and iPhone? You get…a lot more cents. With that in mind, WZoneLite is a  pretty cool WooCommerce Amazon affiliate plugin that syncs everything together s...

Windows 10 now on 600 million machines.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella told shareholders that Windows 10 has now passed 600 million monthly active users, picking up 100 million since May of this year. This number counts all Windows 10 devices used over a 28-day period. While most of these will be PCs, there are other things in the mix there: a few million Xbox Ones, a few million Windows 10 Mobile phones, and special hardware like the HoloLens and Surface Hub. The exact mix between these categories isn't known, because Microsoft doesn't say. The company's original ambition (and sales pitch to developers) was to have one billion systems running Windows 10 within about three years of the operating system's launch. In July last year, the company acknowledged that it won't hit that target—the original plan called for  50 million or more phone sales a year , which the retreat from the phone market has made impossible. But at the current rate it should still be on track for somewhere in excess of 700 million use...

Mayweather's Marriage Proposal -- I'll Love You Forever ... But Your Attitude Sucks!

It's what every little girl dreams of ... a marriage proposal over text message ... complete with crazy Hollywood bribes and a demand that you change your crappy attitude, stat.  And that's exactly what Floyd Mayweather fired off to Shantel Jackson back in April '14 ... according to new court docs obtained by TMZ Sports.  Jackson put the proposal on display in new legal papers filed in her nuclear war with her ex-fiancee ... which shows how Floyd tried to convince Shantel into getting engaged for a 2nd time.  "This is what I offer to you. Let's get married move in together you can go back in forth to L.A and stay at the condo." "I promise I will get you in 3 A list movies this year and I'm willing to go to counseling to make us work and you can get the stuff you want and I'm willing to change but I need you to have a better attitude." How romantic, right?! Shantel says she shot down the offer (shocker) ... and included several t...