Physical activity tied to lower risk of seven types of cancer

PanARMENIAN.Net - A new study sheds light on one potential health benefit of exercise: a lower risk of certain cancers.

The study, published Thursday in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, analyzed data from more than 750,000 adults in the United States, Europe and Australia, and found that recommended amounts of physical activity correlated with lower risks of seven types of cancer, of the 15 types that researchers looked at.

These cancer types were colon, breast, kidney, myeloma, liver, non-Hodgkin lymphoma and endometrial.

A number of previous studies have come to similar conclusions about physical activity and cancer. In the latest analysis, the researchers dug deeper into the relationships between the amount of physical activity and how much lower the cancer risk became.

Recommended levels of physical activity showed what could be a range of potential benefits, from a 6-10% lower risk of breast cancer to an 18-27% lower risk of liver cancer.

With some cancers, most of that reduced risk was seen with the recommended amounts of physical activity. With other cancers, the study found that physical activity well above current recommendations may correlate with the lowest risk levels.

The authors say this "may reflect important differences in the underlying biologic mechanisms for distinct cancer types."