Regularly participating in resistance and aerobic exercise could increase the lifespan of breast cancer survivors, according to a new study published by the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

The authors explained that regular exercise was found to reduce the impact of metabolic syndrome and lower the risk of cardiovascular disease and Type 2 diabetes.

“Many people don’t know the No. 1 cause of death for breast cancer survivors is heart disease, not cancer,” said Christina Dieli-Conwright, PhD, MPH, of the division of biokinesiology and physical therapy, University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles, in a USC news release.

Dieli-Conwright et al. studied a total of 100 breast cancer survivors—50 who were chosen at random to exercise and 50 who were not. The 50 chosen to exercise participated in supervised aerobic and resistance exercise three times a week for 16 weeks.

Overall, the exercise was found to significantly impact the 50 chosen participants. The metabolic syndrome z-scores, for example, were “significantly improved” in women who had exercised.

Other signs also pointed to improved health. “Sarcopenic obesity and circulating biomarkers, including insulin, IGF-1, leptin and adiponectin, were significantly improved postintervention compared with usual care,” the authors wrote.

Even after the three-month follow-up, the exercise group was found to be in improved health.

“Our findings suggest a targeted exercise prescription for improving metabolic syndrome in survivors of breast cancer and support the incorporation of supervised clinical exercise programs into breast cancer treatment and survivorship care plans,” the authors concluded.