Here’s another reason to make sure your kids are active - a new study finds breast cancer risk later in life is lower in teenagers who exercise - even starting as early as age 12 can protect them when they get older.
We’ve already heard how exercise can lower the risk of breast cancer after menopause. Now it seems starting young helps, as well.
Researchers from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis followed nearly 65,000 nurses ages 24 to 42 who were part of a major health study.
They found women who were physically active when they were younger were 23 percent less likely to develop premenopausal breast cancer than women who were sedentary growing up - the biggest impact was in those who exercised regularly from ages 12 to 22.
Women at the lowest risk for breast cancer ran or did some other vigorous activity for 3 hours and 15 minutes a week… or walked 13 hours a week.
The theory is that moderate exercise lowers estrogen levels enough to cause some helpful changes in our hormones.
Researchers say it’s also possible that the protection from exercising when we’re younger will last long enough to protect against the more common postmenopausal breast cancer, too.
And unlike other risk factors for the disease like family history and our age - exercise is something we can control… so get moving, girls!
You can find the complete study in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
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Tags: breast cancer, Exercise, teenagers
