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A new study shows the importance of exercise for teenage girls. Researchers analysed data on 75,000 Chinese women aged between 40 to 70. They found that women who exercised regularly as teenagers were healthier than those who hadn't. Teenage girls who did 80 minutes exercise a week had a 16 per cent lower risk of dying from cancer and other diseases. This percentage was 13 for women who exercised more than 80 minutes a week. The researchers said that in general, women would live longer if they did just 15 minutes of exercise a day in their teens.

The head researcher said that doing exercise as a teen would increase longevity even if they stopped exercising when they were older. She said that regardless of adult exercise, teen exercise would reduce the risk of illnesses like cancer. She added: "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." Although the findings were based on women in China, the benefits of exercising during the teen years apply to women worldwide.