• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
nutrition health writer

Thinking Nutrition

For the latest nutrition research and controversies

  • Home
  • About
  • Podcast
  • Blog
    • Allergies
    • Cancer
    • Child Health
    • Collagen
    • Diabetes
    • Eating Well
    • Getting Active
    • Gut Health
    • Heart Health
    • Inflammation
    • Managing Weight
    • Mental Health
    • Mythbusting
    • Nutrition Supplements
    • Women?s Health
  • In the Media
  • Services
  • Contact
  • Search
You are here: Home / Cancer / Being active improves cancer survival odds

Being active improves cancer survival odds

March 5, 2014 by Tim Crowe Leave a Comment

Being active by walking improves cancer survival
Walking on Brooklyn Bridge by lindejesus. CC BY-NC 2.0

Evidence continues to grow that physical activity after a cancer diagnosis is linked to a better cancer survival outlook.

Being physically active is now recognised as a potent ‘cancer-preventing’ habit. Some estimates link regular physical activity to as much as a 20 to 40% lower risk of colon and post-menopausal breast cancer and a potential benefit in lowering prostate cancer risk too.

Being active also comes with the added bonus of improving fitness, keeping bones healthy, keeping body weight in check and reducing stress.

An evolving field of research is looking at the role that physical activity can play in people already diagnosed with cancer. Several research studies are now linking regular physical activity after a cancer diagnosis with lower rates of cancer-related mortality, particularly from breast and colorectal cancer. These findings are important when you consider that thanks to earlier detection and improved treatments, more people than ever are surviving cancer.

Cancer survival odds improved by being active

Adding further to the evidence for the benefits of being physically active after a cancer diagnosis, United States researchers looked at the lifestyle habits of over 1000 men with cancer. All the men were part of a long-running observational study, the Harvard Alumni Health Study.

The men first gave estimates of their normal physical activity levels in 1988, a median of 6 years after their cancer diagnosis. The physical activity estimate was updated in 1993 and the men were followed right through to 2008.

What clearly stood out was the earlier age of death from cancer and heart disease in men who were inactive. The inactive men accumulated less than the equivalent of an hour’s walking per week compared to the very active men who were active for more than the equivalent of 10 hours walking each week.

It could be that the very inactive men were that way because of pre-existing poor health, yet when allowances were made for age, smoking, body weight, and diet, the survival benefit was still clearly in favour of the active men.

What it all means

We probably don’t need more research to tell us how beneficial being physically active is for us. The key message though about physical activity after a cancer diagnosis is that a person should still try and be as active as they possibly can, even in the face of a serious illness.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit

Filed Under: Cancer, Getting Active Tagged With: cancer, cancer survival, exercise, physical activity

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Connect with Me

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Sign up for Updates

Loading

Most Popular Posts

  • Broccoli is bad for you, like, really toxic bad
  • Arthritis relief: can collagen supplements help?
  • Lemon water: is it worth the squeeze or just sour hype?
  • How do the plant-based milks compare?
  • Collagen supplements: the science behind the health benefits

Get the book

Now in its fifth edition, Understanding Nutrition is the leading text used in nutrition and dietetics courses in Australia and New Zealand. As one of the coauthors, I step you through core topics such as diet planning, macronutrients, vitamins and minerals and follow this with chapters on diet and health, sports nutrition, lifespan nutrition and food safety.

Footer

Privacy policy

Terms of use

Creative Commons License
All content on Thinking Nutrition by Dr Tim Crowe is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License and can be reused with attribution.