Good cardiorespiratory fitness associated with up to 40% lower risk of 9 cancers

Medical Xpress / British Medical Journal / British Journal of Sports Medicine ^ | Aug. 15, 2023 | Dr Aron Onerup et al

[ConservativeMind]

Good cardiorespiratory fitness when young is associated with up to a 40% lower risk of developing 9 specific cancers later on—at least in men—suggests a large long term study.

These include cancers of the head and neck, esophagus, stomach, pancreas, liver, bowel, kidney, and lung.

At the start of their stint, when they were aged between 16 and 25, conscripts underwent a standard battery of assessments.

The final analysis included more than 1 million men (1,078,000), 84,117 (7%) of whom subsequently developed cancer in at least one site during an average monitoring period of 33 years.

Compared with men with a low level of fitness at conscription, higher cardiorespiratory fitness was linearly associated with a lower risk of developing specific types of cancer.

It was associated with a 5% lower risk of rectal cancer (2337); a 12% lower risk of pancreatic cancer (1280); an 18% lower risk of bowel cancer (3222); a 19% lower risk of head and neck cancer (2738 men); a 20% lower risk of kidney cancer (1753); a 21% lower risk of stomach cancer (902); a 39% lower risk of food pipe cancer (689); a 40% lower risk of liver cancer (1111); and a 42% lower risk of lung cancer (1635).

But higher cardiorespiratory fitness was also associated with a 7% heightened risk of prostate cancer (14, 232 men) and a 31% heightened risk of skin cancer (23, 064). Prostate cancer screening and exposure to sunlight might account for these findings, suggest the researchers.

This is an observational study, so no firm conclusions can be drawn about cause and effect.

Nevertheless, their findings are reflected in the American Society of Clinical Oncology guidelines on exercise during cancer treatment, they point out.

[ConservativeMind]

It’s an association, but seems reasonable.

[ConservativeMind]

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[entropy12]

Main reason I continue my treadmill routine at age 83 is because I have believed this for a long time, that regular exercise is a cancer preventive. A side benefit is no heart issues.

https://youtube.com/shorts/cOZbElfBdCU?

[Jess Kitting]

Time for people to get off of their fatty acids.

[metmom]

Maybe because people without cancer are capable of staying in better shape.

[RoosterRedux]

That would make a great t-shirt.