A new study adds to the body of evidence that good physical condition can dramatically reduce cancer risk.
of studyA paper published Tuesday in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that men who had high cardiorespiratory fitness at a young age developed nine types of cancer years later, including those of the head and neck, lung, kidney and heart. found to have a low risk of developing gastrointestinal system.
The study followed more than one million young people in Sweden for an average of 33 years, when they began taking legally required military fitness tests around the age of 18, until 2010. The researchers then analyzed cancer diagnosis rates in men and compared them with fitness levels recorded in military exams.
The test started with a low resistance level on the stationary bike for 5 minutes, then increased resistance by 25 watts per minute until the candidate was too tired to continue.
Based on the results of the bike test, the authors of the new study compared participants to low, medium, and high levels of cardiopulmonary fitness (a measure of how well the cardiovascular and respiratory systems deliver oxygen to the muscles). classified into They found that those with higher fitness levels had a 19% lower risk of head and neck cancer and a 20% lower risk of kidney cancer compared to the lower fitness level group.
On the other hand, the risk of lung cancer was 42% lower among the healthiest participants, which was mainly explained by people’s smoking habits.
Dr. Aaron Onerp, lead author of the study and a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, said cancer risk generally continued to decline as participants’ fitness levels improved.
“But you don’t have to be a top elite athlete to lower your risk,” he says. “Improved fitness appears to be associated with a lower risk of developing most of these cancers.”
Onerp said he was particularly surprised by the results of the study on gastrointestinal cancer. The study showed that fit participants had an approximately 40% lower risk of esophageal, liver, bile duct, and gallbladder cancers, and participants had an approximately 20% lower risk. stomach and colon.
The incidence of gastrointestinal cancer among young people has risen sharply in recent decades. In March, the American Cancer Society reported that people under the age of 55 accounted for 20% of all colorectal cancer cases in the United States in 2019. This is almost double the 11% in 1995. 2021 Survey They estimate that within 7 years, colorectal cancer could be the leading cause of cancer deaths among 20- to 49-year-olds in the United States.
“From a public health perspective, we can see what risk reduction can be achieved if public health efforts are focused on promoting physical activity and fitness in the population,” Wannup said.
Kathryn Schmitz, Ph.D., professor of hematology and oncology at the University of Pittsburgh, who was not involved in the new study, said the study was a “strong vocabulary of studies linking physical activity with reduced risk of many common cancers.” It is said that it is intended to add “collections”.
In fact, a March study involving more than 30 million participants found that just 11 minutes of physical activity each day was associated with a lower risk of dying from various cancers. and, 2016 analysis found that higher physical activity levels were associated with a reduced risk of developing 13 of the 26 cancers studied. Studies have shown that physical activity is associated with his 30% lower risk of dying, even after being diagnosed with colorectal cancer. According to the National Cancer Institute.
Schmitz said the new study is particularly valuable because it’s based on standard baseline assessments of fitness, rather than asking participants to self-report their exercise plans.
“When we track our physical activity, we inflate what we’re actually doing, which fitness can’t do,” Schmitz said. “So it’s a better reflection of what that person actually does on a daily basis.”
In contrast to the main results of this study, the data showed an association between higher fitness levels and an increased risk of two types of cancer: melanoma and prostate cancer. Both Onerp and Schmitz thought that people with higher fitness levels were more likely to be exposed to the sun, so they were most likely to do so. more likely to be tested for prostate cancer.
Schmitz pointed out some important limitations of this study. First, the study did not include women. Second, participants’ lifestyle factors and subsequent fitness levels were not assessed after the initial examination, leaving questions about other mitigating factors that may have influenced cancer incidence.
But the study sheds light on how physical fitness at a young age can affect health later in life, Schmitz said.
“This points to the direction that we want to do more physical activity at a young age,” she said.
