According to a report in the American Journal of Epidemiology, and followed up by Brit newspapers such as The Daily Mirror, women who cycle for at least three hours a week can dramatically cut the chance of developing breast cancer.

Cycling cuts breast cancer risk by a third

That’s the findings of Dr Karen Steindorf of the Cancer Research Centre in Heidelburg, Germany.

"We found decreasing risks with increasing cycling levels," said Steindorf.

It’s well known that regular exercise can build up immune levels and lower the risk of certain types of cancer but, says the Daily Mirror in a positive piece, "the latest study confirms cycling has the greatest benefits."

In Germany, where the study was carried out, cycling is a major transport choice not merely a leisure option as in the UK.

BBC.co.uk carried a story on the research too but quoted a British cancer researcher who poo-poohed the German findings.

Clare Stevenson, a Cancer Research UK researcher at the University of Bristol said it was unlikely that cycling was much better than any other form of exercise.

"It could be that when people are asked to recall how much physical activity they’ve done, they may have had more accurate recall of cycling – because they cycled to school or work.

"It’s important not to read too much into this and take away the message that cycling is particularly good for you."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/…/2743965.stm

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