Everybody knows that an appropriate amount of
exercise is good for you, but now a new study involving
data from more than 750,000 adults has linked physical activity to a lower risk
of several types of cancer.
The work published yesterday, where many of us
will have fallen significantly short of fulfilling our recommended quota of
daily exercise due to the holidays, shows that following guidelines for
activity of 2.5 to 5 hours a week of moderate intensity activity or 1.25 to 2.5
hours of vigorous activity reduced the risk of cancers including of the colon,
breast, kidney and liver.
Exercise intensity is measured in METs
(metabolic equivalents) where 1 MET is the amount of energy expended whilst
sitting down resting. Moderate-intensity activities are considered to be those
that burn off between 3-6 times as much energy per minute as sitting quietly
(3-6 METs) and for most people include activities such as pilates, yoga, leisurely
cycling or walking at a brisk pace. Vigorous activities are considered to be
anything which use over 6 times as much energy as sitting quietly (>6
METs)and include jogging, brisk cycling and activities such as circuit
training.
Of the 15 cancer types studied, 7 were
associated with a statistically significant lower risk of occurrence if recommended
physical activity guidelines were met. Interestingly, there appeared to be a
‘dose dependent’ correlation between the amount of hours of physical exercise
done and the level of the risk reduction. For example, men who did 7.5 MET
hours of exercise a week had an 8% lower risk of colon cancer, but those who
did 15 MET hours had a 14% reduced risk. Other cancers associated with a
reduction in risk when physical activity guidelines were met were cancers of
the kidney, liver and myeloma in both sexes and non-hodgkin lymphoma,
endometrial cancer and breast cancer in women only.
‘These findings provide direct
quantitative support for the levels of activity recommended for cancer
prevention and provide actionable evidence for ongoing and future cancer prevention
efforts,’ conclude the study authors in the paper.
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However, the researchers do note that there
were some limitations to the study including limited numbers of non-white
participants, small numbers of certain types of cancer and the fact that
physical activity levels were self-reported and may not always have been
accurate.
Nevertheless, the research provides more
evidence that exercise can be effective in helping to prevent some types of cancer.
“Physical activity guidelines have largely
been based on their impact on chronic diseases like cardiovascular disease and
diabetes,” said Alpa Patel, Ph.D., senior scientific director of epidemiology
research at the American Cancer Society and author of the new paper. “These
data provide strong support that these recommended levels are important to
cancer prevention, as well,” Patel added.
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