New study finds fitness could significantly reduce risk of cancer
| May 7, 2019, 17:06 IST
A new study has found that people who are very fit are less likely to develop lung and colorectal cancer.
Researchers found those people who had high fitness levels before their cancer diagnosis had a reduced risk of dying from the disease compared to those who were found to have low fitness levels.
Researchers wanted to investigate the relationship between fitness and cancer because there is currently limited data on the subject. That is why Catherine Handy Marshall, MD, MPH, of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and her team decided to conduct a study to investigate the link. The test began in 1991 till 2009. It is the largest study of its kind that included women and a large percentage of the group were non-white individuals.
- Participants with the highest fitness had a 77 per cent reduced risk of developing lung cancer.
-Participants with the highest fitness had a 61 per cent reduced risk of developing colorectal cancer.
- Participants with the highest fitness had44 per cent decreased the risk of dying during follow-up.
"Our findings are one of the first, largest, and most diverse cohorts to look at the impact of fitness on cancer outcomes," Dr Handy Marshall, told a news portal. Adding, "Fitness testing is commonly done today for many people in conjunction with their doctors. Many people might already have these results and can be informed about the association of fitness with cancer risk in addition to what fitness levels mean for other conditions, like heart disease."
However, further research is needed to determine whether improving fitness can reduce the risk of cancer. The study's findings were published in the journal Cancer, which is reviewed by the American Cancer Society.
Previous research has found fitness can also reduce the risk of heart attack, even for those people who may appear healthy. "We found a strong link between higher fitness levels and a lower risk of heart attack and angina pectoris over the nine years following the measurements that were taken," researcher of the study Bjarne Nes told a news portal. Adding, "Even among people who seem to be healthy, the top 25 per cent of the fit individuals actually have only half as high a risk as the least fit 25 per cent." The results of this study were originally published in European Heart Journal.
Researchers found those people who had high fitness levels before their cancer diagnosis had a reduced risk of dying from the disease compared to those who were found to have low fitness levels.
Researchers wanted to investigate the relationship between fitness and cancer because there is currently limited data on the subject. That is why Catherine Handy Marshall, MD, MPH, of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and her team decided to conduct a study to investigate the link. The test began in 1991 till 2009. It is the largest study of its kind that included women and a large percentage of the group were non-white individuals.
- Participants with the highest fitness had a 77 per cent reduced risk of developing lung cancer.
-Participants with the highest fitness had a 61 per cent reduced risk of developing colorectal cancer.
- Participants with the highest fitness had44 per cent decreased the risk of dying during follow-up.
"Our findings are one of the first, largest, and most diverse cohorts to look at the impact of fitness on cancer outcomes," Dr Handy Marshall, told a news portal. Adding, "Fitness testing is commonly done today for many people in conjunction with their doctors. Many people might already have these results and can be informed about the association of fitness with cancer risk in addition to what fitness levels mean for other conditions, like heart disease."
However, further research is needed to determine whether improving fitness can reduce the risk of cancer. The study's findings were published in the journal Cancer, which is reviewed by the American Cancer Society.
Previous research has found fitness can also reduce the risk of heart attack, even for those people who may appear healthy. "We found a strong link between higher fitness levels and a lower risk of heart attack and angina pectoris over the nine years following the measurements that were taken," researcher of the study Bjarne Nes told a news portal. Adding, "Even among people who seem to be healthy, the top 25 per cent of the fit individuals actually have only half as high a risk as the least fit 25 per cent." The results of this study were originally published in European Heart Journal.