Exercise ‘can help reduce womb cancer risk’

Intense exercise can help to reduce the risk of overweight women contracting womb cancer, according to a new study in the British Journal of Cancer.

Data from the California Teachers Study showed that overweight women who take regular vigorous exercise can cut their risk of developing endometrial cancer – the most common form of womb cancer – by more than one-third.

The protective effect was shown to come from exercise women had done around a decade ago.  

Study author Dr Christina Dieli-Conwright at the University of Southern California said: "This important study supports existing evidence that suggests that taking up strenuous exercise could be a lifestyle change to help overweight and obese women reduce their risk of developing womb cancer."

Womb cancer affects more than 6,500 people each year in the UK, with the majority of sufferers being postmenopausal women.

Moreover, around 3,300 cancer cases each year are linked to not doing enough physical activity, with evidence showing that inactivity can raise chances of breast and bowel as well as womb cancer.