Researchers reveal a very quick way to fight the risk of cancer and you don’t have to be sporty!
Eat varied and balanced, not smoking, not being sedentary… We know in broad terms the anti cancer advice but it is often easier to have quick and easy tips to put in place to take action. Above all when it’s about take up sport. Laziness, lack of time… It’s not that we don’t want to, it’s also that it can be complicated to fit into the schedule. A study published in the journal JAMA Oncology during the summer of 2023 should interest you.
The people studied said they never exercised.
According to the results, it would not even be necessary to “do sports” but simply to accelerate the pace of some of our habits. Vigorous physical exercise means effort that increases our breathing and makes us short of breath as climb the stairs quickly, run to catch the bus or metro, walk at a brisk pace in the street. “Adults who don’t exercise are at increased risk of developing certain cancers” recall the authors of the study. They wanted to go further and wondered if an intense effort of a few minutes could also reduce this risk. They analyzed data from more than 22,000 people registered in the UK Biobank database. The people studied said they never exercised. They wore physical activity trackers. The researchers then used artificial intelligence to analyze the data and establish the link between vigorous physical exercise and cancer risk.
18% less chance of developing and dying from cancer
The researchers noticed that “THE minimum necessary to see some reduction in risk was much less than one minute per day” reported Professor Emmanuel Stamatakis, co-author of the study. Ideal for reducing the risk of developing cancer located around 3 to 4 minutes of intermittent, vigorous physical activity in their daily life (very brisk walking, rapid stair climbing). Indeed, these people who were actively moving for at least 3 to 4 minutes (even without doing sports on the side) had 18% less chance of developing and dying from cancer than those which were not activated. They were also 30% less likely to develop breast, endometrial, stomach, bladder, colon, blood cancer.
“The take home message is that move more at a higher intensity during daily life can be a good alternative to structured exercise and may reduce long-term cancer risk” concluded Professor Stamatakis.