Regular Exercise After 30 Minimizes Breast Cancer Risk
Just out of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recent 56th annual meeting. If you are over 30 years old, exercising an hour a week may cut your risk of breast cancer, which is the most common cancer among U.S. women.
Just out of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recent 56th annual meeting. If you are over 30 years old, exercising an hour a week may cut your risk of breast cancer, which is the most common cancer among U.S. women.
192,370 women will be diagnosed with this form of cancer in 2009, according to American Cancer Society.
There are almost 2.5 million breast cancer survivors in the US, and the great news is that death rates from this type of cancer are headed down.
While this is welcome news, far too many women still have to face this potentially disfiguring, often dangerous and always worrisome condition.
And this was the reason behind the work shown at the recent ACSM meeting, a rather comprehensive look at the exercise levels (among other things) of a large group of women.
The team questioned 4,296 women about their activity levels during four key stages of life; 10 to 15 years, 15 - 30 years, 30 - 50 years, and over 50 years.
The participants completed an extensive survey that included questions on ethnicity, education, menstrual and pregnancy history, use of oral contraceptives and female hormones, breast health screening practices, family history of cancers, smoking history, diet, alcohol intake, stress levels as well as the amount of weekly exercise.
"An average amount of exercise was defined as 60 minutes per week," explains lead researcher Lisa Sprod from the School of Sport and Exercise Science at the University, "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."
The researchers identified that breast cancer risks didn't have a relationship to the amounts of exercise under 30 years; but once a subject was over 30 her risks of developing breast cancer were lowered if she was active.
Women who did the most exercise during the ages of 30 to 50 years old developed breast cancer less often than those who were less active during that same time period.
This reduced risk held even as the women passed their fiftieth birthday, all it took was one hour of activity per week for them to be less likely to develop breast cancer than those who weren't being active.
"Regular exercise appears to have protective effects for this age group of women," continues student researcher Sprod. "Meeting physical activity recommendations can act like a prescription for prevention when it comes to breast cancer."
This research supports established data that links activity and breast cancer risk, especially as it relates to a constant level of activity maintained over a lifetime.
Regular exercise has been found to have a favorable effect on hormone levels, weight and weight gain with age, as well as the body's immune system.
If all this has you thinking you need to get more active, talk with your own doctor today and make a difference.
To start off, slow, steady progress is what you're after. 10 minutes a day for the first few weeks is a solid start. Once you're able to do this much, slowly increase the length and then the intensity of your workout.
This way you will avoid injury, build your endurance, and attack (and achieve) those fitness goals.
Also, your added fitness could well give you greater protection against breast cancer.
Just out of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recent 56th annual meeting. If you are over 30 years old, exercising an hour a week may cut your risk of breast cancer, which is the most common cancer among U.S. women.
192,370 women will be diagnosed with this form of cancer in 2009, according to American Cancer Society.
There are almost 2.5 million breast cancer survivors in the US, and the great news is that death rates from this type of cancer are headed down.
While this is welcome news, far too many women still have to face this potentially disfiguring, often dangerous and always worrisome condition.
And this was the reason behind the work shown at the recent ACSM meeting, a rather comprehensive look at the exercise levels (among other things) of a large group of women.
The team questioned 4,296 women about their activity levels during four key stages of life; 10 to 15 years, 15 - 30 years, 30 - 50 years, and over 50 years.
The participants completed an extensive survey that included questions on ethnicity, education, menstrual and pregnancy history, use of oral contraceptives and female hormones, breast health screening practices, family history of cancers, smoking history, diet, alcohol intake, stress levels as well as the amount of weekly exercise.
"An average amount of exercise was defined as 60 minutes per week," explains lead researcher Lisa Sprod from the School of Sport and Exercise Science at the University, "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."
The researchers identified that breast cancer risks didn't have a relationship to the amounts of exercise under 30 years; but once a subject was over 30 her risks of developing breast cancer were lowered if she was active.
Women who did the most exercise during the ages of 30 to 50 years old developed breast cancer less often than those who were less active during that same time period.
This reduced risk held even as the women passed their fiftieth birthday, all it took was one hour of activity per week for them to be less likely to develop breast cancer than those who weren't being active.
"Regular exercise appears to have protective effects for this age group of women," continues student researcher Sprod. "Meeting physical activity recommendations can act like a prescription for prevention when it comes to breast cancer."
This research supports established data that links activity and breast cancer risk, especially as it relates to a constant level of activity maintained over a lifetime.
Regular exercise has been found to have a favorable effect on hormone levels, weight and weight gain with age, as well as the body's immune system.
If all this has you thinking you need to get more active, talk with your own doctor today and make a difference.
To start off, slow, steady progress is what you're after. 10 minutes a day for the first few weeks is a solid start. Once you're able to do this much, slowly increase the length and then the intensity of your workout.
This way you will avoid injury, build your endurance, and attack (and achieve) those fitness goals.
Also, your added fitness could well give you greater protection against breast cancer.
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Next - just head on over to the Daily Health Bulletin for more information on how to reduce breast cancer, plus for a limited time get 5 free fantastic health reports. Click here for more details on this study to reduce breast cancer risk.