The amount of exercise women perform during their teenage years can impact on their risk of dying from cancer and other causes, according to a new study.
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During this period, 5,282 of the women died, 2.375 of whom died from cancer, and 1,620 from cardiovascular disease.
Researchers at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville, TN studied 75,000 Chinese women between age 40 and 70.
Information regarding the effects of physical activity or exercise during the adolescent phase is limited and so the researchers from the Vanderbilt Epidemiology Center, Vanderbilt School of Medicine and Shanghai Cancer Institute investigated the role of the said modifiable element in the risk development of morbidity and mortality among young women as they become adults.
This group also had a 15 percent lower risk of death from all causes. This study revealed that men who kept high-levels of fitness in their midlife are 55% less likely to die from cancer and 44% less likely to develop colorectal cancer than otherwise. This also highlights the critical need for the importance of disease prevention early in life.
The women who exercised more than 1.33 hours per week as teens had a 13 percent lower risk for death from all causes, while the women who exercised both as teens and as adults had a 20 percent lower risk of death from all causes. “However, it is important to note that adult factors, such as adult exercise, BMI, and chronic diseases are potentially influenced by adolescent exercise, and adjusting for adult factors in these types of studies may not always be the best approach, as overadjustment could be a concern”, Nechuta added.
One limitation of the study was that the exercise data was self-reported, Nechuta said, which means that it relied on the participants’ recall of how much they exercised as teenagers.
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She said further research was needed. The researchers particularly found that playing team sports may help boost women’s health in the long-term. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise of the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, biology, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer by annually convening more than 25 conferences and educational workshops, the largest of which is the AACR Annual Meeting with nearly 19,300 attendees.
