Exercise and breast cancer
July 3rd, 2009 by Barb
Maybe yesterday’s post didn’t persuade you to start running, but, if you’re concerned about breast cancer, new research indicates you should at least get some regular exercise.
A study presented at the recent annual meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) found that women over age 30 significantly reduced their odds of contracting breast cancer if they exercised regularly. According to the lead researcher, “meeting physical activity recommendations can act like a prescription when it comes to breast cancer.”
The researchers surveyed almost 4,300 women on their physical activity practices during four stages of life: 10-15 years old, 15-30, 30-50 and 50+. While the incidence of breast cancer didn’t appear to change in association with exercise levels between 10 and 30 years of age, women older than 30 significantly reduced their chances of developing the disease if they were more active.
“An average amount of exercise was defined as 60 minutes per week,” the lead researcher says, “so anyone exercising less than 60 minutes was below average, above 60 minutes was above average, and anyone that considered themselves ‘highly competitive’ chose that category.” Compared with women who were less physically active, fewer of the “highly competitive” women between 30 and 50 contracted breast cancer. The same finding occurred for the 50+ cohort. (As a sidenote, does exercising more than an hour a week really signal that you’re highly competitive? Not if I’m any indication. Conversely, can’t someone be highly competitive without exercising? Deep thoughts, I know.)
It’s worth noting that the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans—which ACSM supports—recommend that adults get in at least 2.5 hours per week of moderate aerobic physical activity, rather than just an hour. What’s another 90 minutes a week?
Entries (RSS)