In addition to following a healthy lifestyle and eating right, increasing your physical activity level can also help lower your cancer risk. Continue reading to learn more about the latest research that gives you yet another way to keep your health in a state of balance and keep cancer cells from forming.
A Relationship Between Cancer and Physical Activity
New research has further proven that you can achieve a lowered cancer risk by incorporating more physical activity into your daily life. Higher levels of activity are associated with a lower risk of 13 types of cancer.
Studies conducted by the National Cancer Institute have found that the risk of seven types of cancers can be reduced by 20% or more if you are very active. Participants in the study who were the least active, on the other hand, didn’t reap those same benefits.
Previous Studies Support These New Claims
The fact that physical activity is associated with a lowered cancer risk isn’t really news, though. There have been hundreds of studies already conducted throughout the past, and experts have already examined the connection between cancer risk and physical activity. The past research has also shown that there was a reduced risk for endometrial, breast, and colon cancers.
What this new research does, however, is fill in gaps that were found in previous studies, which were ultimately inconclusive when it came to the many other types of cancer. By pooling data on more than one million people from Europe and the United States ranging from the ages of 19 to 98, this new study was able to look at a wider range of cancers, including those that are rare. These participants were also followed for an average of 11 years.
In addition to a lowered cancer risk for endometrial, breast, and colon cancers, this new study found that physical activity reduces the risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma, gastric cardia cancer, liver cancer, myeloid leukemia, and kidney cancer. The risk of cancer of the rectum, head, neck, and bladder was also reduced.
In conclusion, the research is clear: simply finding an activity that you enjoy, whether that is going for a jog in the great outdoors, biking on a stationary bike at the gym, or doing yoga at home, can provide you not only with weight loss benefits and strength, but also a reduction in your risk of developing a variety of cancers.