Women who both exercise and watch their diet are less vulnerable to this condition

Jun 2, 2014 19:49 GMT  ·  By

Specialists speaking at a meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology explained that, according to evidence at hand, exercising on a regular basis trumps dieting when it comes to reducing breast cancer risk.

Specifically, it appears that, when compared to women who simply diet, those who also take the time to exercise are less likely to be diagnosed with said condition at some point in their lives.

“Exercise is the preferred weight loss strategy to decrease breast cancer risk,” explained specialist Anne Maria May with the University Medical Center Utrecht, in the Netherlands, as cited by Live Science.

The claim that exercising helps reduce breast cancer risk is based on information collected while monitoring 240 overweight women looking to shed about 11 to 13 pounds (roughly 5 to 6 kilograms) over the course of 16 weeks.

Of these women, some opted for dieting alone, others embraced an intense workout routine and tried to eat a tad healthier, and another group – i.e. the control group – stuck to business as usual.

Once the 16 weeks were over, the women had their overall health conditions evaluated. It was thus discovered that, although the ladies in the first two groups all managed to lose weight, the ones in the third were in better shape.

They were found to have lost more body fat, and to have experienced a drop in estrogen levels. Since numerous forms of breast cancer require estrogen to develop, it was concluded that these women were less likely to be diagnosed with this condition.

More so seeing how the intense workout routine was found to have also influenced blood levels of other hormones previously documented to influence breast cancer risk.

Talking to the press, researcher Anne Maria May has said that, all things considered, these findings just go to show how important it is for women to keep active.