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Exercise May Increase Cancer Survival Rates in Men
Added: (Mon Jul 28 2008)
Exercise, since time immemorial, have long been known to have a lot of benefits. Several medical studies show that exercise is a critical known component to good health. Doctors claim that exercise may slow down the aging process, reduce depression and anxiety, increase bone strength, among others. A recent study conducted by researchers from the Swedish Medical University Karolinska Institutet (SMUKI) suggests that men who exercise regularly may less likely to die from cancer compared to sedentary ones.
In the study, the researchers studied the effect of physical activity and cancer risk in 40,708 men aged between 45 and 79. The study which lasted for seven years was published in the British Journal of Cancer. It showed that in that specific period, 3,714 men developed cancer wherein 1,153 died. Men who walked or cycled for at least 30 minutes a day heightened their survival rate to about 33 percent, compared to those who exercised less or did nothing at all.
In addition to this, the researchers also discovered that a more extensive walking and cycling program or 60 to 90 minutes of workout a day, led to a 16 percent lower incidence of cancer. However, these activities only led to a five percent reduction of cancer rates among men who cycled and walked for 30 minutes a day. Researchers add that this could only be due to chance.
The SMUKI study surveyed men from two countries in central Sweden and paid attention to their lifestyles, and engagement in physical acitivities. They then scored these responses and compared the results with data officially recorded in a central cancer registry over a period of seven years.
“These results show for the first time, the affect that daily exercise has in reducing cancer death risk in men aged between 45 and 79,” says Professor Alicja Wolk, who led the study. “We looked at more moderate exercise such as housework, undertaken over a longer period of time and found that this also reduced men's chances of dying from the disease,” he adds.
The results of the study bolstered the belief that exercise activities does need to become strenuous to achieve its health benefits.