Men who exercise daily 'less likely to die from cancer'
Tuesday, 27 May 2008 19:35
Men who cycle daily could have a lower risk of dying from cancer
Men who regularly exercise are less likely to die from cancer than those who do not, new research has found.
Scientists at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden discovered that men who walked or cycled for at least 30 minutes a day had a 34 per cent lower risk of dying from cancer than men who did less exercise or nothing at all.
They studied the effect of physical activity and cancer risk in over 40,000 men aged between 45 and 79.
During the period studied, 3,714 men developed cancer and 1,153 died from the disease.
The researchers said that half an hour's walking or cycling a day increased survival among these men by 33 per cent.
A more intensive programme of walking and cycling for between an hour and an hour and a half a day led to a l6 per cent lower incidence of cancer.
Study lead author Professor Alicja Wolk said: "These results clearly show for the first time the effect that very simple and basic daily exercise such as walking or cycling has in reducing cancer death risk in middle-age and elderly men.
"Additionally, this study threw up some really promising data on the role exercise can play in preventing cancer which we would like to explore further in future work."
Commenting on the findings, Dr Lesley Walker, director of cancer information at Cancer Research UK, said: "It's not entirely clear from this study what role exercise plays in preventing cancer in men, but we do know that a healthy lifestyle can prevent up to half of all cancers - and regular exercise forms a key part of this.
"Cancer Research UK recommends maintaining a healthy body weight, eating sensibly and taking regular exercise as key to a healthy life - along with avoiding smoking."
The findings are published in the British Journal of Cancer.