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Published on Leave a comment on All Daily Physical Activity Reduces Cancer Risk

Study after study finds all sorts of health benefits from exercise and physical activity. Even if it's only in short bursts. A recent large study found that all physical activity is better than just sitting in reducing cancer risks by about 7% for at least 13 cancers that have been associated with inactivity.

Standing up reduces cancer risks from just sitting for hours. And moving in any way (light activity) reduced the cancer risks even more than just standing. But vigorous activity reduced cancer risks even more. As little as three minutes of daily vigorous activity (e.g., hurrying up flights of stairs) was equivalent to 90 minutes of light-intensity movement in reducing cancer risks.

Bottom line: Move, move, move - whenever you can. Even if it's only for a few minutes. And even if it's a gentle stroll. The average American sits about 9 1/2 hours a day - and research shows that is not good for health.

From the Washington Post: 3 minutes of this activity may cut the risk of 13 cancers, study finds

To reduce your risks for at least 13 types of cancer, jog up and down the nearest steps for three minutes or stand up from your desk or couch for 30.

Either strategy might help drop your risks of certain cancers by as much as 7 percent, according to a new study of how the ways we move — and don’t move — during the day affect our chances of malignancies.

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From the January 15, 2014 Science Daily:

Don’t Just Sit There! Prolonged Sitting Linked to Early Mortality in Women

Led by Cornell University nutritional scientist Rebecca Seguin, a new study of 93,000 postmenopausal American women found those with the highest amounts of sedentary time -- defined as sitting and resting, excluding sleeping -- died earlier than their most active peers. The association remained even when controlling for physical mobility and function, chronic disease status, demographic factors and overall fitness -- meaning that even habitual exercisers are at risk if they have high amounts of idle time.

Seguin and co-authors found that women with more than 11 hours of daily sedentary time faced a 12 percent increase in all-cause premature mortality compared with the most energetic group -- those with four hours or less of inactivity. The former group also upped their odds for death due to cardiovascular disease, coronary heart disease and cancer by 13, 27 and 21 percent, respectively.

The assumption has been that if you're fit and physically active, that will protect you, even if you spend a huge amount of time sitting each day," said Seguin, assistant professor of nutritional sciences in Cornell's College of Human Ecology. "In fact, in doing so you are far less protected from negative health effects of being sedentary than you realize."