Thinking Nutrition

For the latest nutrition research and controversies

  • Home
  • About
  • Articles
    • Cancer
    • Diabetes
    • Gut Health
    • Mental Health
    • Women’s Health
    • Child Health
    • Heart Health
    • Eating Well
    • Managing Weight
    • Nutrition Supplements
    • Getting Active
    • Mythbusting
  • Podcast
  • In the Media
  • Services
  • Privacy
  • Contact
You are here: Home / Cancer / Beating cancer one step at a time

Beating cancer one step at a time

April 23, 2013 by Tim Crowe Leave a Comment

cancer survivor physical activity
White Geometry – Winter Moon by Melusina Parkin. CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Cancer is a big killer of Australians, yet a person has much in their own control in preventing many of these cases of cancer. Being physically activite is one of them and is now recognised as a potent ‘cancer-preventing’ habit.

Regular physical activity can reap big rewards in cutting a person’s risk of cancer with estimates of 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. Wins all around.

So how much physical activity is enough? All physical activity is beneficial, but for cancer prevention the scientific evidence suggests up to one hour of moderate activity or 30 minutes of vigorous activity each day is likely the best. Moderate activity is anything that causes a slight, but noticeable rise in breathing or heart rate such as brisk walking, medium-paced swimming or recreational cycling. Examples of vigorous activity include running, aerobics, squash, fast cycling and football.

A fascinating field of research is now 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.

One study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology in 2006 found that women who had been diagnosed with colorectal cancer and undertook the equivalent of a brisk walk for one hour per day had a 61 percent lower risk of dying from their cancer compared to inactive persons. Importantly, how active the women were before diagnosis of cancer had no effect on their chance of dying after diagnosis which shows that getting more active after a cancer diagnosis is likely beneficial.

Another research study from the same journal, involving people with advanced colorectal cancer, found that those undertaking the equivalent of a brisk walk for one hour per day had half the risk of a cancer relapse compared to inactive people.

The results from the two studies in people with colorectal cancer support previous published work showing a reduction in risk of cancer recurrence with increased levels of physical activity in women with breast cancer.

What this all means is that physical activity after a cancer diagnosis may offer some benefits in improving survival from the disease. Because physical activity has few downsides, it is something that all cancer survivors should aim to include more of in their lives. For a person with cancer, undertaking a new ‘fitness regime’ is something that should be undertaken after appropriate advice from a health professional.

Share this:

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

Filed Under: Cancer Tagged With: bowel cancer, breast cancer, cancer, cancer survival, colorectal cancer, exercise, physical activity

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

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

Sign up for updates

Loading
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Recent Posts

  • The weird way that body posture changes taste
  • Collagen supplements: the science behind the health benefits
  • Is adrenal fatigue a thing?
  • Can keto cure cancer?
  • Hypothyroidism and Hashimoto’s disease: what role for diet?

Most Popular Posts

  • Hypothyroidism and Hashimoto’s disease: what role for diet?
  • Broccoli is bad for you, like, really toxic bad
  • Coffee and its surprising health benefits
  • Are collagen supplements legit or just Insta influencer fairy dust?
  • How do the plant-based milks compare?

Get the Book

Understanding NutritionNow in its fourth 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.

Work with me

If you have a project you would like to discuss be it website or newsletter content, blog or magazine articles, media copy or scientific writing (a career in medical research means I’m pretty handy in writing and reviewing papers and grants) then please get in touch with me.

Back to Top of Page ↑

Creative Commons Licence
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