Even two to three minutes can make a difference
Dropping even just a few minutes of vigorous exercise every day can push up the risk of cancer by 15%, research suggests. Experts found that swapping exercise for more sedentary behaviour – such as watching an episode of a TV soap opera or sitting at a desk – drives up the cancer risk.
They also warned that people who have been active during their lives should do all they can to maintain exercise, as even small drops in activity can affect health. Previous studies have found strong evidence that higher levels of activity are linked to a lower risk of several cancers – including of the bladder, breast, bowel, kidney and stomach.
The new research, published in the journal BMC Medicine, looked at people’s lifestyles and also used modelling to see how exercise was linked to cancer risk. The analysis included 59,218 people (55% female) with an average age of 61.7 from the UK Biobank, a database of half a million volunteers taking part in medical research.
Over an eight-year follow-up, some 2,385 cancers occurred in the group. Researchers looked at areas such as how long people spent sleeping, sedentary behaviour such as watching TV, standing and then any movement and at what intensity.
They found that the more people moved, the lower their risk of cancer. For example, replacing 15 minutes of sleep or sedentary behaviour with 15 minutes of movement were each linked to a 2% reduced risk of cancer.
Conversely, swapping 30 minutes of movement for 30 minutes of sedentary behaviour increased the risk by 8%, while swapping it for sleep increased the risk by 7%. Dr John Mitchell, lead author from University College London (UCL), said: “Our study showed that there’s an increased risk of cancer for those who spend a lot of time sitting down.
“We also explored what might happen if people leading active lives reduced their levels of physical activity and found that they also face a higher cancer risk. Based on theoretical modelling, our study showed even losing two to three minutes per day of vigorous activity, such as running for a bus, and replacing it with sitting down, sleep or light activity increased their cancer risk.
“Other examples of vigorous activity – that is, anything which elevates your heart rate and makes you sweat – include sport, rushing up the stairs and carrying home heavy grocery bags. The take-home message is that for people already leading physically active lives, it’s really important to maintain that level of activity as you get older.”
Current NHS guidelines say adults should aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity a week or 75 minutes of vigorous intensity activity a week. They should also do strength activities that work all the major muscle groups (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms) on at least two days per week.
Examples of moderate activity include very brisk walking (4mph or faster), cycling at 10mph-12mph, or badminton. Vigorous activity also includes hiking, jogging at 6mph or faster, fast cycling, basketball or tennis.
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