Walking at Least 7 Hours a Week Can Bring Down the Risk of Breast Cancer: Research

The American Cancer Society, in the first week of October 2013 revealed that the post-menopausal women who walk for one hour every day can significantly bring down their chances of developing the symptoms of breast cancer. In the study, 73000 women were followed for 17 years and it was found that these women had significantly lowered their risk of breast cancer by simply walking for at least 7 hours in one week. The American Cancer Society also revealed that it was for the first time that reduced risk of breast cancer was directly linked with walking.

The study published in the Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention closely studied 73000 women out of 97785 aged 50-74. These women were recruited by the American Cancer Society between 1992 and 1993 so that the researchers could monitor the incidences of cancer in that group. The women were asked to fill in the questionnaires about their health and that how much time they spent in being active or participating in the activities like swimming, aerobics and walking. The same questionnaire was filled at two-year intervals between 1997 and 2009.

Out of all the women, 47 percent said that the only recreational activity that they did was walking. The researchers eventually found out that the women who walked for at least seven hours in a week had 14 percent lower risk of breast cancer in comparison to the ones who walked for just three or four hours in a week.

Dr Alpa Patel, a senior epidemiologist at the American Cancer Society in Atlanta Georgia explained that it is for the first time that just walking one hour for a day was linked with the lower risk of breast cancer in women. It is however important to note that the longer activities and more strenuous works brought down the risks even more.