Breast cancer runs in my family so when I saw this in our paper I wanted to pass it on. I have a teenage daughter too. New research shows exercise during the teen years - starting as young as age 12 - can help protect girls from breast cancer when they’re grown. Middle-aged women have long been advised to get active to lower their risk of breast cancer after menopause.

Researchers tracked nearly 65,000 nurses ages 24 to 42 who enrolled in a major health study. They answered detailed questionnaires about their physical activity dating back to age 12. Within six years of enrolling, 550 were diagnosed with breast cancer before menopause. A quarter of all breast cancer is diagnosed at these younger ages, when it’s typically more aggressive.

Women who were physically active as teens and young adults were 23 percent less likely to develop premenopausal breast cancer than women who grew up sedentary, researchers report today in the Journal of National Cancer Institute. The biggest impact was regular exercise from ages 12 to 22.

The women at lowest risk reported doing 3 hours and 15 minutes of running or other vigorous activity a week - or for the less athletic, 13 hours a week of walking.

The theory is that in youth physical activity itseff lowers estrogen levels.

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