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Exercise reduces breast cancer risk by 25%

A regular exercise regimen can lower your breast cancer risk by 25%. Photo: Getty

Making exercise a part of your daily routine can reduce your breast cancer significantly, a leading breast cancer researcher said.

Dr Brigid Lynch, the National Breast Cancer Foundation Early Career Fellow says, according to today’s research, regular moderate to vigorous physical activity can lower your breast cancer risk by 25 per cent. “That’s comparing the women who are in the highest category of exercise, looking at least an hour a day, to women who aren’t doing anything at all,” she says. “That’s a really substantial risk reduction, even if you can’t make the hour per day you can still achieve some risk reduction by doing less than that.”

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Lynch has just begun a four-year research project examining further how physical activity and a sedentary lifestyle can affect your cancer risk. While the current guidelines rely on self-reporting to gauge the optimal amount of physical exercise (currently four to seven hours per week,) she believes measuring physical activity through accelerometers will give a better idea of not only the optimum duration, but also the ideal intensity. “That’s what I am really interested in, to help women get a clearer idea of what is required and when they’ve got a clearer goal to work towards to really help improve their breast cancer risk.”

According to Lynch, the current recommended dose of four to seven hours of moderate to vigorous physical activity per week is “vague”, and suggests increasing activity to least one hour of physical activity per day. But even if you can’t manage one hour, starting with 30 minutes and working towards one hour of daily moderate to vigorous exercise will make a huge impact.

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“By saying that people do four to seven hours a week, it kind of suggests that doing less than four doesn’t provide any benefit,” she says. “We think that three hours is better than nothing, and it will get progressively better the more you do. It’s always better to do some rather than nothing, but finding that optimal amount is really key to some of my research.”

In the meantime, she suggests integrating physical activity into your day. “Things like parking your car further away from work, or getting off the bus a couple of stops earlier will make a difference,” she says. “Start thinking about how much time you’re sitting. Set a timer on your phone or computer to remind you to stand up and take a standing break every half an hour. That’s something easy to incorporate during the day without too much trouble.”

Dr Brigid Lynch is calling on women to kickstart their exercise routine by signing up for the Mother’s Day Classic fun run on May 10.