Walking for at least 7 hours per week reduces the risk of breast cancer after menopause by 14 percent, researchers of a new study found; confirming findings of previous studies, which stated mild physical activities reduce risk of breast cancer. If walking is accompanied with vigorous exercises, breast cancer risks reduce by 25 percent.
Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women globally, especially in Hispanic women. According to recent predictions, approximately 232,340 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in women in 2013 and about 39,620 women will die from the disease.
Researchers of a new study found that walking for at least 7 hours per week can reduce the risk of breast cancer after menopause by 14 percent. This is true also for women who are not overweight or gain weight later. For the study, researchers examined the breast cancer status and exercise levels in 73,615 postmenopausal women taking part in the CPS-II Nutritional Cohort. Over the 17 years study period, 4,760 were diagnosed with breast cancer.
The authors of the study noted that women who reported walking to be their only form of physical activity and walked for at least 7 hours per week experienced a 14 percent lower risk of breast cancer, compared to women who walked for only 3 hours or less per week. However, women who reported walking for 7 hours per week along with doing other vigorous exercises experienced a 25 percent lower risk of breast cancer.
"Our results clearly support an association between physical activity and postmenopausal breast cancer, with more vigorous activity having a stronger effect," said Alpa Patel, PhD, leader of the study and American Cancer Society strategic director of Cancer Prevention Study-3. "Our findings are particularly relevant, as people struggle with conflicting information about how much activity they need to stay healthy. Without any other recreational physical activities, walking on average of at least one hour per day was associated with a modestly lower risk of breast cancer. More strenuous and longer activities lowered the risk even more."
Researchers also found that women benefited from walking irrespective of them being overweight, normal weight or obese. Walking helped reduce the risk of breast cancer whether or not women were taking menopausal hormone therapy. Mild physical activities including walking and exercising was found to reduce the risk of both estrogen receptor positive and estrogen receptor negative cancers.
The findings of this study confirm earlier findings that suggest doing mild physical activities regularly to keep breast cancer at bay.
According to the latest Physical Activity Guideline for Americans report, experts recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) per week. This doesn't only lower the risk of breast cancer but also keeps the body fit and healthy. Each session could be an accumulation of eight to 10 minutes. MVPA is defined as greater than 2,020 counts per minute measured with a tool called an accelerometer, which translates to a walking speed of 3 km per hour.
