New research maintains keeping active may actually be serving to reduce your risk of developing 13 different types of cancer.
The Association of Leisure-Time Physical Activity With Risk of 26 Types of Cancer in 1.44 Million Adults study published in the June 2016 issue of JAMA Internal Medicine, pooled data from 12 different US and European study sites examining 1.44 million adults aged between 19-to-98 years. The study found high levels of leisure time exercise reduced an individual’s risk for a profound 13 types of cancer.
The study revealed that the risk of most cancers was reduced among the adults who participated in more than 1.5 hours of leisure time exercise per week.
Importantly, exercise had the biggest impact on cancer reduction in oesophageal adenocarcinoma (42 per cent reduction), liver (27 per cent reduction), and kidney (23 per cent reduction) cancers.
A second study published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention, entitled Adherence to Diet and Physical Activity Cancer Prevention Guidelines and Cancer Outcomes: A Systematic Review found that study participants who looked after themselves both nutritionally and physically, slashed their cancer risk by up to 61 per cent.
“High versus low adherence to established nutrition and physical activity cancer prevention guidelines was consistently and significantly associated with decreases of 10 per cent to 61 per cent in overall cancer incidence and mortality,” the study reported.