Exercise cuts a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer by 10 per cent.
Activities including walking, cycling and other sports all reduce the possibility of developing the disease before the menopause – with those who are most active the biggest beneficiaries.
Dr. Michael Jones, of The Institute of Cancer Research, London, said: “These findings add to the strong body of evidence showing that being physically active is good for our health.
“Our research adds to the evidence that engagement in higher levels of leisure-time physical activity may lead to reduced premenopausal breast cancer risk.
“We still need to better understand the biology behind the link between physical activity and reduced breast cancer risk.”
The latest research analysed 19 studies from across the globe that included over 547,000 women who were tracked for an average of 11.5 years.
10,231 were diagnosed with breast cancer before the menopause and those females who were among the 10 per cent most active were 10 per cent less likely to develop the disease after adjusting for BMI.
