New research by the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) has suggested that regular physical activity for women before menopause could reduce the risk of breast cancer.
Published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, researchers analysed the data from 19 global studies, including the Breast Cancer Now Generations Study.
The study, funded by Breast Cancer Now and conducted as part of the Premenopausal Breast Cancer Collaborative Group, investigated the levels of physical activity and cancer diagnoses of 547,000 women who had not yet gone through the menopause and followed them up for an average of 11.5 years.
During that time, approximately 10,231 of those women were diagnosed with breast cancer before menopause.
Breast cancer, responsible for around 47,000 new cases in the UK every year, is a disease that occurs when abnormal breast cells grow out of control and form tumours.
After ICR researchers ranked the data relating to the physical activity that women reported, including sports, cycling and walking, the results showed that those in the top 10% of physical activity levels were 10% less likely to develop breast cancer before menopause.
Additionally, their analysis considered further breast cancer risk factors and lifestyle behaviours, including BMI, family history of the disease, smoking and alcohol consumption.
After doing so, despite the fact that no specific amount of physical activity needed to be completed to see benefits, researchers discovered that the more time women spent completing moderate and vigorous movements, the lower their risk of breast cancer.
Dr Simon Vincent, director of research, support and influencing, Breast Cancer Now, said: “This research highlights how vital it is that we support women to start making small, healthy lifestyle changes that can positively impact their health and help lower their risk of breast cancer.
“While we can’t predict who will get breast cancer, there are some things people can do to lower their risk of getting it.”
Previous research has shown that physical activity lowers insulin levels and levels of growth hormones in the body, which might encourage breast cancer growth, as well as decreases general inflammation associated with cancer development and progression.