Can 1 Hour of Exercise Daily Reduce Breast Cancer Risk?

Findings presented at the 2014 European Breast Cancer Conference showed that regular exercise of at least 1 hour daily reduces risk regardless of age, weight or geographical location.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women, with approximately 227.000 diagnoses and 40.000 deaths annually. One in every 8 women develops it during life, with rates increasing daily, a deeply concerning situation showing prevention's necessity. As with every disease, preventing it before development is the most effective treatment. This recently announced study provides strong evidence that regular exercise reduces risk.

Many reliable earlier studies showed strong evidence that regular exercise reduces estrogen. Given high estrogen's important role in breast cancer, this helps explain the reduction.

Presented at the 2014 conference, this was a meta-analysis covering the last 26 years and 37 studies. Meta-analysis combines independent studies and statistically analyzes findings, giving it the highest evidential value. Data covered more than 4.2 million women. Comparing high with low physical activity, researchers found reduced risk regardless of age, weight or location. Whoever and wherever a woman is, exercise lowers risk. Therapeutically administered estrogen increased risk, but regular exercise also prevented that increase.

In conclusion, the study strengthened existing findings and contributed substantially toward firmly adding another exercise benefit. Exercise protects not only against breast cancer but many cancers and noncancerous conditions such as heart disease and diabetes. As preventable diseases become widespread, caring for general health and taking precautions becomes even more important. Health is among the easiest things to lose and hardest to replace.