14 DAY TRIAL // Working out and staying in top shape has countless benefits, other than the much-mediated weight loss effect. Physical exercise keeps us healthy, understandably, and helps fight stress and depression, but that’s not all it can do, as recent research comes to show that women who are aerobically fit also have lower chances of dying of breast cancer.
The study, conducted by researchers at USC’s Arnold School of Public Health and published in the April issue of the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, studied 14,000 women aged 20-83 for a period spanning from 1970 to 2001.
All of them were given preemptive exams and treadmill tests, and had their fitness ranked as low, moderate, or high. Then, the cases of 68 women who died of breast cancer throughout 2003 were analyzed in comparison with their fitness level.
As it turns out, those with a low fitness level are more prone to developing this specific form of cancer, which makes it so that the physically fit are the least exposed to this kind of risk. The good news is, according to researchers, that any woman out there can actually improve her odds of developing cancer by working out, which is, so far, the cheapest and most convenient method to staying healthy.
“Women in the study’s lowest fitness category were nearly three times more likely to die from breast cancer than women in the most fit group.” Dr. Steve Blair, a USC researcher and former president of the American College of Sports Medicine, says for physorg.
“With more than 40,000 women dying each year from this disease, finding a strong association between fitness, which can be improved by the relatively inexpensive lifestyle intervention of regular physical activity, such as walking, is exciting.” Dr. Blair further adds.
In order to decrease the risk of developing cancer, researchers share, all that women have to do is simply exercise more and lead a more active life. Moderate exercise means about 150 minutes of working out weekly, while high fitness can be achieved with 300 minutes of training per week. If walking happens to be your thing, a recent study has also revealed that moderate intensity exercise can be achieved through walking with a speed of 100 steps per minute.