Good news for women who do regular exercise! Even if you smoke your may reduce your chance of developing lung cancer by doing regular exercise. This new study shows that regular exercise may cut down the risk of lung cancer. But this comes with a warning. The researchers caution that any relative benefit is dwarfed by the benefits gained from kicking the habit.

In the study, women who reported high levels of physical activity were 23 per cent less likely to develop lung cancer than those who were the least active, report Dr Kathryn H.

Schmitz of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and his colleagues. And among women who smoked, greater activity was tied to a 28 per cent lower lung cancer risk, while women who were ex-smokers showed a 37 per cent lower risk with more activity.

Nevertheless, smokers remained at much higher risk of lung cancer than those who had never smoked, or those who had quit, Schmitz and her team note. "Quitting smoking is the single most important action a smoker can take to reduce risk of lung cancer," they note.

Studies investigating the effect of exercise on lung cancer risk have had mixed results. To better understand the relationship, they looked at 36,929 women participating in the Iowa Women's Health Study who were followed from 1986 to 2002.

Those who reported participating in vigorous activity at least twice a week, or moderate activity more than four times weekly, were classified as having a high physical activity level.

Overall, the scientists found, women who were the most active were 23 per cent less likely to develop lung cancer, while those who were moderately active (meaning they exercised vigorously once a week or moderately one to four times weekly) had a 21 per cent lower risk than those who were the least active.


Posted by: Geethu    Source

---