Data is emerging that, although exercise is a good way to reduce the risk of breast cancer, one needs to be active all day. According to Dr. Neville Owen at the recent American Institute for Cancer Research meeting (http://aicr.org) "sitting time is emerging as a strong candidate for being a cancer risk in its own right."
Many people sit as much as 10 hours a day: driving to work, work , eating, etc. He cited studies that demonstrated that measures such as waist circumference, insulin resistance and inflammatory factors, all increased with sitting and decreased with activity. These factors are related, not only to cardiovascular disease, but also cancers. He noted a benefit to just 1 or 2 minutes ACTIVITY during each hour.
We need practical solutions NOW. I offer mine and others from the meeting. I am fortunate to have a job of walking up and down the hall and in and out of rooms, but I sit on a 65cm exercise ball at the computer and use a standing desk when writing. Get up and walk down the hall or around your desk the last 5 minutes of each hour (set the alarm on your computer). Use hand weights. Stand to talk on the phone. Walk down the hall to deliver a message instead of emailing. You get the idea.
MORE MOVEMENT MEANS FEWER BREAST CANCERS!
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