Healthy lifestyles may prevent over 50 percent of cancer-related deaths.
Does movement drop your cancer mortality risk? Sedentary behavior is bad: What I mean is that it is associated with adverse health outcomes, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and earlier death (all-cause mortality). A recent analysis provides insights into the association between sedentary behavior and cancer mortality, using a cohort of adults in the USA enrolled in a prospective study.
Background
I write today with the knowledge that cancer is a leading cause of death for adults in the USA (and other countries, too). While it is clear that sitting on the sofa all day long can increase your risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and early mortality, we don’t have a lot of data on the relationship with deaths due to cancer. Historic study results have been mixed, in part because many of us underestimate how much we spend sitting.
The recently published REGARDS study has me excited, as its results offer hope for those who cannot engage in very vigorous activities (such as running or cycling). It can also be challenging to determine the benefits of physical activity versus the harms linked to being sedentary.
The REGARDS study: Movement & cancer mortality
The study authors analyzed data from a group of over 8000 people who wore accelerometers. The REGARDS study is a national research investigation of risk factors for stroke. One cohort of participants wore accelerometers on their hips during waking hours for seven consecutive days. At an average follow-up time of 5.3 years, 268 subjects died of cancer.
You are probably not surprised that those who died of cancer had spent more hours per day being sedentary, were sedentary for more extended periods, ad performed less light-intensity and moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity. The former included light housework or cooking, while the latter included activities such as brisk walking.
- The most sedentary individuals were 1.5-times more likely to die from cancer (after adjusting for age, race, sex, and a myriad of other variables).
- After adjusting for potential confounding variables, those who were sedentary for the most prolonged periods were nearly 1.4-times more likely to die from cancer.
- The association of physical activity and cancer mortality in this study appeared independent of body mass index (BMI).
GO HERE to learn more about movement and cancer mortlity:
