WEDNESDAY, Nov. 10 (HealthDay News) -- Women who exercise at least 150 minutes weekly may have a lower risk of endometrial cancer, even if they're overweight, according to research presented at the American Association for Cancer Research's Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research Conference, held from Nov. 7 to 10 in Philadelphia.
Hannah Arem, of Yale University in New Haven, Conn., and colleagues analyzed data from 668 cases of endometrial cancer and 665 age-matched controls. Participants reported a number of environmental exposures, demographic features, and lifestyle factors.
The researchers found that women who reported at least 7.5 Metabolic Equivalent (MET) hours per week of moderate- to vigorous-intensity sports or recreational physical activity had a 34 percent lower risk of endometrial cancer than women reporting no MET hours per week. Women who were normal weight and active had a 73 percent lower risk compared to those who were overweight and inactive. Those who were normal weight and inactive had a 55 percent lower risk, and those who were overweight and active had a 38 percent lower risk.
"Our data support an inverse, independent association between physical activity and endometrial cancer risk after adjusting for body mass index and other risk factors. However, the combination of physical activity and body mass index appears to further impact risk of endometrial cancer. Programs to increase physical activity levels to the current recommendation of 150 minutes per week may lower the incidence of endometrial cancer," the authors write.