A longitudinal study that gathered data from more than one million people over 11 years found clear relationships between exercise and reduced risk of cancer.
The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, is considered particularly significant not only for the length of the study and number of participants, but for the very direct links between exercise and certain types of cancer.
The major finding: People who exercised regularly during their leisure time at a fairly high level showed the following reduced risk of these cancers:
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Esophageal adenocarcinoma: 42 percent lower risk
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Liver: 27 percent lower risk
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Lung: 26 percent lower risk
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Kidney: 23 percent lower risk
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Gastric cardia: 22 percent lower risk
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Endometrial: 21 percent lower risk
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Myeloid leukemia: 20 percent lower risk
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Myeloma: 17 percent lower risk
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Colon: 16 percent lower risk
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Head and neck: 15 percent lower risk
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Rectal: 13 percent lower risk
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Bladder: 13 percent lower risk
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Breast: 10 percent lower risk
The average age of those in the study was 59; none had been diagnosed with cancer at the outset of the study.
It wasn’t all feel-good news about the link between physical activity and cancer. The study found those who were physically active had a higher risk of having malignant melanoma — a startling 27 percent— and prostate cancer (5 percent). The latter connection puzzled the authors, who said, “there is no known biologic rationale to explain this association.”
And the study included 26 types of cancer, so exercise is hardly a guaranteed lower risk against all cancers.
The study found that the level of physical activity played a role in reducing one’s risk, as did one’s body mass index. But the latter had only a minor effect; those who exercised regularly and had a high BMI still had much lower risk of having 10 of the 13 cancers. Those with high BMI’s were more at risk for esophageal adenocarcinoma, liver cancer, gastric cardio, kidney cancer, and particularly endometrial cancer.
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Dan Cook
Dan Cook is a journalist and communications consultant based in Portland, OR. During his journalism career he has been a reporter and editor for a variety of media companies, including American Lawyer Media, BusinessWeek, Newhouse Newspapers, Knight-Ridder, Time Inc., and Reuters. He specializes in health care and insurance related coverage for BenefitsPRO.
