1 IN 2
IS TOO MANY

1 in 2 of us will be diagnosed with cancer by age 85.
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Stepping up cancer prevention

Adding physical activity into your dail routine lowers your risk of cancer.

For years we’ve known that limiting alcohol, not smoking, and eating a healthy, balanced diet can reduce your risk of cancer. Now there’s growing evidence that up to 13 different types of cancer may be related to physical inactivity. Cancer Council Victoria has developed a worldleading program of research focussed on the role that physical activity plays in reducing the risk of breast cancer. In a project funded by the World Cancer Research Fund International Grant Programme Associate Prof. Brigid Lynch and her team reviewed thousands of studies to better understand the biological link between physical inactivity and breast cancer.

We found clear and convincing evidence that physical activity reduces the risk of developing breast cancer through its direct effect on circulating sex hormones” said A/Prof. Lynch. “There was no convincing evidence that physical activity acts through insulin signalling or inflammation.”

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We found clear and convincing evidence that physical activity reduces the risk of developing breast cancer.

Another large, international study lead by A/Prof. Lynch’s team used genetic variants related to physical activity to apply a technique called Mendelian randomisation to a sample of 130,957 women of European ancestry. They found strong evidence that genetically predicted physical activity decreased the risk of breast cancer overall, and for most molecular sub-types of the disease.

Together, these findings have strengthened the scientific evidence and we can conclude that there is a causal relationship between physical activity and a lower risk of breast cancer.” To find out more visit www.cancervic.org.au/cancer-information/preventing-cancer/bephysically-active.

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