Study finds women living in more walkable neighbourhoods found to have lower rates of obesity related cancers

Women living in areas with higher walkability levels, measured by average accessibility and population density had a lower risk of obesity related cancers, particularly post menopausal breast cancer. Moderate protections were also found for endometrial cancer, ovarian cancer and multiple myeloma, according to a new study from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and NYU Grossman School of Medicine.

The study published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives followed 14,274 women between the ages of 34 and 65 recruited at a mammography screening center in NYC between 1985 and 1991and monitored them over three decades.

Researchers found that women living in areas with the highest levels of neighbourhood walkability (top 25%) had a 26 percent lower risk of obesity related cancers compared to those living in neighbourhoods in the lowest 25% of walkability.

Obesity has been linked to an increased risk for 13 types of cancer in women ( see the World Cancer Research Fund for more information).