Start walking, cut cancer
2008-01-22 07:20
New York - People who want to
reduce their risk of suffering from colon cancer should start
walking, according to a new study.
It showed that just an hour a day of walking seems to
protect against the disease and the more strenuous the exercise
the lower the odds of developing the disease.
"Our findings suggest that participation in lower intensity
activities may be sufficient to reduce risk though more
vigorous activity provides comparable or perhaps additional
risk reduction," Dr Kathleen Y Wolin, of Washington
University School of Medicine in St Louis, said in a report in
the International Journal of Cancer.
Studies showing that exercise reduces colon cancer risk
have been consistent, she added, but questions remain about the
intensity of exercise necessary to reduce risk.
Wolin and her team studied 79 295 women, aged 40 to 65
years old, for 16 years. During that time 547 developed colon
cancer. But they found that women who walked for one to 1.9 hours
each week were 31% less likely to develop colon cancer
than those who didn't walk at all.
And women who exercised at moderate or vigorous intensity
for more than four hours weekly were at 44% lower risk
of colon cancer than those who exercised for less than an hour
a week.
There was no link between exercising over the long term and
colon cancer risk, but the researchers said the number of
long-term exercisers may have been too small to detect a
relationship.
"Leisure-time physical activity should be encouraged for
all adults for health benefits, including colon cancer
prevention," Wolin added.