Teenage girls who work out have lower death risk in later life

Regular exercise during adolescence may lower death risk in middle and older age from all causes, including cancer, especially in women, a study has said.

"Understanding the long-term impact of modifiable lifestyle factors such as exercise in adolescence is of critical importance and can have substantial public health implications for disease prevention over the course of life," study author, Sarah J Nechuta, assistant professor of medicine at Vanderbilt Epidemiology Centre in the US, said.

The study, published in one of the journals of the American Association for Cancer Research, had detailed information on participants reported at baseline recruitment, including self-reported exercise participation between the ages of 13 and 19, adult lifestyle-related factors, and mortality outcomes.

After an average of 12.9 years of follow-up, there were 5,282 deaths, including 2,375 from cancer and 1,620 from cardiovascular disease. After adjusting for socio-economic factors in adult life, the researchers found that women who participated in exercise as adolescents for 1.33 hours a week or less, had a 16 percent lowered risk for death from cancer, and a 15 percent lowered risk from all causes.

Those who participated in exercise as adolescents for over 1.33 hours a week, had a 13 percent lowered risk for death from all causes. After adjusting for socio-economic factors in adult life, women who participated in team sports as adolescents had a 14 per cent lowered risk for death from cancer.

Women who participated in exercise both in their adolescent and adult lives had a 20 per cent lowered risk for death from all causes. "Our results support the importance of promoting exercise participation in adolescence to reduce mortality in later life and highlight the critical need for the initiation of disease prevention early in life," Nechuta said.