Exercise is one of the greatest gifts you can give your body and mind. Also, exercise can help protect you against a number of diseases, including breast cancer.
In studies conducted in the U.S., white women and black women who exercised regularly demonstrated lower rates of breast cancer than did their inactive peers. For example, women who biked or walked for more than an hour each day had a 19% reduction in their odds of developing breast cancer.
Some scientific evidence exists that women who exercise regularly before menopause gain lifelong benefits against breast cancer. For example, studies of European, Hispanic-American, Asian-American, and Asian women show that the women who have higher lifetime levels of physical activity demonstrated a lower risk of invasive breast cancer.
A recent study performed in Norway showed that even moderate exercise, defined as 4 hours per week, contributed to a lower risk for breast cancer. Another study demonstrated that women who exercised 3 to 5 hours per week had lower mortality from breast cancer than did women who exercised less than 1 hour per week.
On the other hand, a study conducted in the U.S. showed that increased physical activity in women who had a mother, sister, or daughter with a history of breast cancer did not result in reduced risk of breast cancer.
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