Intense daily workout may keep cancer at bay, study finds

WEDNESDAY, July 29 (HealthDay News) -- Increased oxygen consumption associated with moderate- to high-intensity exercise appears to reduce the risk of cancer, a new study has found.
The Finnish study included 2,560 men, aged 42 to 61, whose leisure-time physical activity was assessed over one year. None of the men had a history of cancer, according to the report published online July 28 in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

During an average follow-up of 16 years, 181 of the men died from cancer. Those who engaged in moderate- to high-intensity exercise for at least 30 minutes a day were 50 percent less likely to develop cancer compared with the other men.

The researchers found that an increase of 1.2 metabolic units (oxygen consumption) was related to a decreased risk of cancer death, especially in lung and gastrointestinal cancers, after they took into account factors such as age, smoking, alcohol consumption, body mass index, and fiber/fat intake.

"The intensity of leisure-time physical activity should be at least moderate so that beneficial effect of physical activity for reducing overall cancer mortality can be achieved," the study authors wrote in a news release.

Triathlete Pushes Exercise for Cancer Patients

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- There weren't many days during Sarah Breier's eight-month treatment 5 1/2 years ago for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma when she did not exercise.

Breier would haul herself out of bed in the morning, trudge outdoors and run three miles. Evenings she headed off to the pool for two kilometers of lap swimming. For this world-class triathlete, it wasn't always pleasant, but she credits this regimen with helping to save her life.

"It's made me stronger. Getting through cancer was harder than any triathlon I've ever done," she said. "You just realize how fragile you are, and you realize how capable you are of fighting something. It toughens you up mentally and physically."

Click here to read the complete article.