Results of a 25-year study found that men who were most in shape at the beginning of the study were less likely to die from cancer, while women who started the study overweight had a greater risk of dying from cancer.
The study, which included 2,585 women and 2,890 men, examined the relationship between fitness and obesity and the risk of dying from all types of cancer. Participants were followed from the 1970s to 1998.
A treadmill test was given at the beginning of the study to measure heart health and body mass index (BMI), a measure used to gauge obesity, was measured.
Among men, the fittest were about half as likely to die from cancer as the less fit men. Among women, fitness levels did not have a significant effect on cancer deaths, but a woman’s BMI at the start of the study did. Women with the highest BMIs were close to 50 percent more likely to die from cancer than women with lower BMIs.
It is thought that physical activity reduce cancer risk by influencing certain hormone and growth factor levels, decreasing body fat and possibly boosting the immune system.
Future studies may examine the relationship of fitness and obesity on certain types of cancers, such as breast cancer.
Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 2003;35:270-277
Exercise was believed to play a role in cancer for the last three centuries. However, it is mainly in the past decade that over 300 population-based studies have linked work, leisure and household physical activities to cancer risk. The most researched cancers are those of the bowel, breast, endometrium, prostate, testes and lung.
It is likely exercise exerts its influence on cancer prevention through a variety of mechanisms, but the most potent one would be normalization of insulin levels.
This is just another powerful reason to start your exercise program if you haven’t already. However, using exercise to prevent a distant cancer isn’t a very powerful incentive.
What keeps most people exercising is that they feel better doing it. An added bonus is that they tend to normalize and maintain their ideal body weights.
If you haven’t read my exercise guidelines recently you might want to review them for some tips on how to start your own exercise program.
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