Moderate exercise, such as a daily hour-long walk, can reduce the risk of developing colon cancer by 46%, said investigators at the Harvard School of Public Health. Physically active women also were leaner, less likely to smoke, and more likely to take vitamins and postmenopausal hormones. When the statistical analysis was controlled to account for these effects, however, exercise still had an independent association with decreased colon cancer risk, the investigators reported.

Journal of the National Cancer Institute (1997;89:948-955)