Exercise During Teen Years Reduces Future Breast Cancer Risk by 23 Percent

Email this article to a friend

Printable Version

Articles Related to This Article: • The mineral selenium proves itself as powerful anti-cancer medicine • Cancer is not a Disease - It's a Survival Mechanism (Book Excerpt) • New research shows vitamin D slashes risk of cancers by 77 percent; cancer industry refuses to support cancer prevention Support NaturalNews advertisers - Advertise with NaturalNews Help support NaturalNews with health books and educational programs from Truth Publishing: • Swine Flu Advanced Preparedness • 8 Weeks to Vibrant Health • Raw In Ten Minutes (recipes) • How to Halt Diabetes in 25 Days ... and much more.

(NaturalNews) Women who exercise regularly during their younger years are 23 percent less likely to develop breast cancer as adults, according to a new study conducted by researchers from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Researchers questioned 65,000 female nurses between the ages of 24 and 42 about their exercise histories back to the age of 12, then followed them for six years. Women who had engaged in at least three hours and 15 minutes of vigorous activity, such as running, each week between the ages of 12 and 22 were 23 percent less likely to develop cancer during the study period than women who had not exercised that much. The same protective benefit seemed to accrue to women who engaged in 13 hours per week of moderate exercise - such as walking - instead.

Roughly a quarter of breast cancer cases occur in the age group examined in the current study. These earlier developing cases of breast cancer are generally more aggressive and dangerous.

The researchers were not clear on the mechanism by which exercise early in life helps prevent breast cancer later in life. It is known that exercise can decrease the levels of female sex hormones, such that there is a well-documented tendency of young runners and other athletes to have a delayed onset of menstruation. While the levels of exercise reported in the current study were nowhere near that level, some researchers believe that they may still cause slight changes in hormone levels, enough to affect cancer risk.

"This really points to the benefit of sustained physical activity from adolescence through the adult years, to get the maximum benefit," lead author Graham Colditz said.

Prior studies have demonstrated that exercise in middle age also decreases the risk of breast cancer.

Sources for this story include: ap.google.com.

Share

Get articles like this delivered to you FREE in our popular email newsletter

Related CounterThink Cartoons:

Related Articles: • The mineral selenium proves itself as powerful anti-cancer medicine • Cancer is not a Disease - It's a Survival Mechanism (Book Excerpt) • New research shows vitamin D slashes risk of cancers by 77 percent; cancer industry refuses to support cancer prevention	Take Action: Support NaturalNews.com Email this article to a friend Share this article on: NewsVine | digg | del.icio.us Permalink to this article: http://www.NaturalNews.com/024193_cancer_brst_cancer_cancer_risk.html Reprinting this article: Non-commercial use OK, cite NaturalNews.com with clickable link. Embed article link: (copy HTML code below): <a href = "http://www.NaturalNews.com/024193_cancer_brst_cancer_cancer_risk.html">Exercise During Teen Years Reduces Future Breast Cancer Risk by 23 Percent</a>