Study: Exercising During Teenage Years Lowers Adult Cancer Risk

Teenage exercise may be the key to longer and cancer-free life among women.

A new research led by Sarah J. Nechuta, assistant professor of medicine at Vanderbilt Epidemiology Center in Tennessee, revealed that exercising during adolescent years lowers the risk of cancer and other deadly diseases later in life.

Assessing the health of women aged 40 to 70 years in an average of 12.9 years, the researchers found that women who had involved themselves in exercising as teenagers had lower risks of death from cancer and other diseases versus those who had not.

More specifically, those who exercised for about 1.33 hours a week or less were 16% less likely to die from cancer and 15% less likely to die from other causes. Those who exercised more were 13% less probable to die from other ailments.

Meanwhile, actively joining team sports as an adolescent shows a 14% decreased risk of death from cancer and 10% less risk in other mortality-leading diseases.

The study, published on Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, also revealed that when exercising is sustained until adulthood, the risk of death from other causes is decreased up to 20%.

Information for the study was acquired from the Shanghai Women's Health Study (SWHS), a population-based prospective study that has followed around 75,000 women in Shanghai. The organization was funded by the National Cancer Institute.

Participants of the study were interviewed in person every 2-3 years to follow-up and gather new data, which also include adult lifestyle-related factors and mortality outcomes. Data obtained at the start of the research included self-reported exercise participation between the ages of 13-19, as well samples of blood and urine.

Throughout the study, the researchers recorded 5,282 deaths among the participants. Of this number, 2,375 deaths were attributed to cancer and 1,620 were caused by cardiovascular disease.

As reported by MNT, although the study is dependent and limited on self-reported information and does not include details regarding occupation and modes of transport used, Nechuta believes their findings can help illustrate the value of exercise.

The results of the study complement a previous research, which concluded that healthy living has long-term benefits. 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.

"Our results support the importance of promoting exercise participation in adolescence to reduce mortality in later life and highlight the critical need for the initiation of disease prevention early in life," Nechuta told MNT.

Mayo Clinic informs that regular physical activity controls weight, improves mood, boosts energy, leads to better sleep and as one could expect, prevents a slew of diseases.