Activity cuts breast cancer risk
Post-menopausal women who exercise vigorously reduce their risk of breast cancer, but only if they are of normal weight.
Regular activity such as running, aerobics or even heavy housework is associated with a 30% reduction in the risk of breast cancer, according to research. However, the association is only seen in women who are of normal weight and not in obese or overweight women.
The study, which took place over 11 years and included 32 000 women, is published in Breast Cancer Research. Vigorous exercise was judged to include the more strenuous household and gardening tasks, such as scrubbing floors, washing windows, digging, or chopping wood and sports or exercise such as running, fast jogging, competitive tennis, aerobics, bicycling on hills, and fast dancing.
The figures initially showed a small, non-significant reduced risk of breast cancer associated with vigorous physical activity, the researchers from the US National Cancer Institute reported.
Researchers think that physical activity acts through underlying biological mechanisms that are independent of body weight control.
