Early-life fitness maintenance significantly reduces cancer risk, says study
What's the story
A recent study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine revealed that keeping a healthy weight can greatly reduce the risk of suffering from cancer.
Published on August 15th, the study suggests that males who were in their 20s and 30s and had high levels of cardiorespiratory fitness had a lower risk of developing nine different cancers. Here are some more findings.
Study analysis
Study report
The study followed over a million men in Sweden for an average of 33 years from 1968 to 2005. It started when they joined the military fitness test for which the legal age was 18 up until 2010.
The men's cancer diagnosis rates were then studied by the researchers, who also contrasted them with the levels of fitness indicated by their military fitness tests.
Test
How the participants were tested
During the test, participants rode a stationary bike for five minutes at a low resistance level, then increased the resistance by 25 watts per minute until they became too exhausted to continue.
Based on the findings of the bike test, the authors of the study categorized participants into low, moderate, and high levels of cardiorespiratory fitness.
Results
What the test revealed
Compared to the low-fitness group, it was discovered that participants with high levels of exercise had a 19% lower risk of head and neck cancer and a 20% lower risk of kidney cancer.
While the risk of lung cancer was 42% lower in the fittest participants, smoking practices accounted for the majority of this difference.
Observation
Final observation
The study's lead author, Dr. Aron Onerup, a postdoctoral researcher in the department of pediatrics at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, noted that when participants' fitness levels rose, the risk of cancer continued to decline.
"Some physical activity is better than none, and that more physical activity is better for optimal health outcomes," said Onerup.
Hence, it's never too late to get fit.
Other details
This study does not take into account other lifestyle factors
Dr. Claire Knight, senior health information manager at Cancer Research UK said that this study "doesn't fully account for the effect of diet, alcohol, and smoking, which are more likely to affect your risk of developing cancer."
Dr. Knigt suggests one to be active. According to her, "Anything that gets you warmer, slightly out of breath, and your heart beating faster counts."