--- title: Exercise and Breast Cancer: Study Finds How Much Activity Lowers Risk description: A new study investigates the connection between body fat and cancer risk; here's how much exercise can lower the chances of breast cancer canonical: https://time.com/collections/guide-to-exercise/3960035/exercise-breast-cancer/ article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-07-16T15:00:54.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:26:12.249Z article:section: Health og:title: Here's The Amount of Exercise that Lowers Breast Cancer Risk og:description: A new study investigates the connection between body fat and cancer risk; here's how much exercise can lower the chances of breast cancer og:url: https://time.com/collections/guide-to-exercise/3960035/exercise-breast-cancer/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta3e03074f4fc3399/6988d489bc6cfc6cfd3e21e1/time-magazine-exercise-fitness-health-bethan-mooney-78.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 4000 og:image:height: 2670 og:image:alt: Here's The Amount of Exercise that Lowers Breast Cancer Risk og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Here's The Amount of Exercise that Lowers Breast Cancer Risk twitter:description: A new study investigates the connection between body fat and cancer risk; here's how much exercise can lower the chances of breast cancer twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta3e03074f4fc3399/6988d489bc6cfc6cfd3e21e1/time-magazine-exercise-fitness-health-bethan-mooney-78.jpg?branch=production --- Jul 16, 2015 # Here's the Amount of Exercise That Lowers Breast Cancer Risk > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account. ## Video: Pink Light: Burlesque and Breast Cancer Survivors [Watch (HLS stream): Pink Light: Burlesque and Breast Cancer Survivors](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/rjTuOdIi.m3u8) (6:26)  _Published 2012-01-20. The New York School of Burlesque's Breast Cancer survivors perform the first annual Pink Light Burlesque show in an effort to raise awareness about the disease_ by [Alice Park](https://time.com/author/alice-park/) ## Alice Park Senior Correspondent  Bethan Mooney for TIME More than 100 studies have found that physical activity can lower breast cancer risk; the most active women tend to have a 25% lower chance of developing the disease than the least active women. But how does exercise help? Christine Friedenreich, scientific leader of cancer epidemiology and prevention research at Alberta Health Services, and her colleagues had identified body fat as a possible pathway to lowering cancer risk. In an earlier study, they found that women exercising 225 minutes a week showed dramatic drops in total body fat, abdominal fat and other adiposity measures. **MORE:** [New Genetic Test for Breast Cancer Would Be Cheaper and Easier](http://time.com/3829449/breast-cancer-genetic-test-cheap/) That inspired the team to examine more closely the effects of the commonly recommended 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise a week on body fat measures. They compared these effects to a doubling of that amount of activity, to 300 minutes a week, to see if more exercise had a greater effect in lowering body fat. [Reporting in](http://oncology.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?doi=10.1001/jamaoncol.2015.2239) _JAMA Oncology_, Friedenreich found that indeed, among 384 non-active women past menopause, some of whom were normal weight and others who were overweight or obese, those randomly assigned to exercise for 300 minutes a week over the year-long study lost more body fat than those who were active for 150 minutes each week. The women didn’t change their diet or any other aspect of their lives; they just exercised their allotted amount, by walking, running, cycling or using an elliptical machine or treadmill. **MORE:** [Many Breast Cancer Patients Get Unnecessary Radiation](http://time.com/3626516/breast-cancer-patients-treated-with-unnecessary-radiation/) Overall, the women exercising 300 minutes weekly lost 1 kg—about 2.2 pounds—or 1% more body fat than those in the 150 minute group. The former also lost more abdominal fat and had a bigger drop in their waist to hip ratio. They did not, however, lose significantly more weight. That last finding is important because many physical activity and cancer studies focus on weight as an outcome and correlate pounds lost with cancer risk. But Friedenreich wanted to specifically tease apart what physiologic effects exercise has on the body, specifically on fat, since fat levels have been linked to a higher risk of a number of cancers, including breast cancer. **MORE:** [Here’s How Well Your Genes Can Predict Your Breast Cancer Risk](http://time.com/3534200/heres-how-well-your-genes-can-predict-your-breast-cancer-risk/) While the women who exercised more saw the biggest drops in their body fat measures, those who followed the recommended amount of activity—150 minutes each week—also melted away some of their fat. But the finding suggests that more is better, and for preventing cancer, it may take more than the recommended amount of exercise to produce a benefit. “The exercise guidelines were developed with \[heart disease\] outcomes in mind,” says Friedenreich. “So at that level, they can have an effect on blood pressure, cholesterol levels and waist circumference. But for cancer prevention, we may need to exercise at higher volumes. So yes, doing 150 minutes of activity a week is good, but if you can do more, then from a cancer prevention perspective, 300 minutes is better.” The fact that exercise can lead to a drop in body fat is especially important for cancer of the breast, she says, since fatty tissue is the primary source of hormones that can drive breast cancer after menopause. Fat also plays a role in the body’s immune and inflammatory responses, both of which are also involved in cancer. “I’m sure that doctors are advising their patients to be more physically active to prevent heart disease or diabetes,” says Friedenreich. “So we’d like to add cancer to that list of chronic diseases that exercise can potentially prevent or help to lower the risk.” ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] I came in, and I didn't know what to expect. Yeah I was, nervous about it. When I like, yeah, I'm gonna , be taking my clothes off in front of strangers and you know, exposing my scars and all of that. But, I have to tell you it was like, just doing one class and going through the movements, it's just like it kind of like, brought me back. Even just like, a little like, flick, of a glove just makes, you feel oh so like, pretty and feminine and juicy again. Where, I feel, with my own experience, I lost that. About a year and a half ago I was taking a shower and I do you know, self exams myself, and I found a lump. I, felt the, [ LAUGH ] earth, fall out from the bottom of my feet. Cuz I knew. And, I was scared, I felt scared. I felt really scared. When people ask, me to describe my best asset prior to my breast cancer, it's like, funny enough I would always say, my boobs. No way. And then, sure enough, I was like, damn. I'm gonna lose them. When I got out of surgery, and the first time they took the bandages off, and I saw what I looked like, it was devastating. I just, I was like, wow. They're gone. And now look what's left, it's nothing. That's also, what's very important to me about this piece is I always hide behind my voice. Mm- hm. So I have to, like, get that, and I have to, like, pull it out of me somehow. Pink Light Burlesque is a program to provide free classes for breast cancer patients and survivors. This is the first Pink Light Burlesque ever. So I'm teaching them classic burlesque, a little bit about burlesque history. How to work on costumes. How to give the number beginning in the middle and the end. And how to have fun with it and just enjoy it. This show is dedicated to my friend Diane Nagel who is a big part of the burlesque and performance community in New York. And she was really excited to be one of the first survivors to perform burlesque. And she, she passed away on September 25th, a week before the program started. They've all been in fear of losing this like, key feminine aspect, and now they're gonna come out and engage in this like key feminine behavior, those burlesque striptease and they're gonna own it. They're, they're claiming that their bodies mean whatever they want them to mean. Yeah but I just want to. Put them on. I've had other breast cancer survivors tell me they want to take classes, but they're not sure if it's appropriate with their, surgery. Or sometimes they just feel really weird about their body. And I noticed after my mom had cancer she went through a really long period of feeling like her body was just work. Like she just had to take care of it, and take care of it, and take care of it. And it took her a long time to get back into thinking of her body as a place where she played. And then you're gonna sit right, and think about how cats yawn. When people come to a burlesque show what they find sexy about it is people having fun in their bodies. And they think that burlesque is the embodiment of that personality, strength of personality. [ NOISE ] Joe and I were, like, talking about ideas. I wanted to do something rock and roll, like very vixenish, and she's like, you need to be a dominatrix. How do you feel about that? And I thought about it, and I was like, hell yeah. Screw you cancer. I'm going to kick you in the ass. That's why I walked into the operating room with stilettos on, because I was totally going to kick it. Now I totally whipped it, you know, out of my life. Anybody? This will go all over your face and their face. [ LAUGH ] You know. And that's what I need. That's what I needed. I needed something like this, because, you know, for so long I feel like I, suppressed, my feminine power. I'm ready to rock. Women, we are, mothers. We are sisters. We are lovers. We are friends. Amazing. You're really wonderful. Thank you. Congratulations Coppa Pasty. It's really been, manieving, experiences. It's been an empowering, experience. [ MUSIC ] I gave part of myself to the audience. You know, I gave my experience I showed you who I am, here is me, Jennifer, otherwise known as Brandy Hollywood. And you know, here are my, and here's what I've been through and I'm bringing you into my world so you can see what I've been through. And I'm giving something back to you at the same time. 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