Exercise and Cancer

Interesting studies about the effect of exercise on cancer. Let's see if Time Magazine can warp this finding...

From the New York Times...

It seems fair and just that conscientiously working out should confer disease-fighting benefits, especially against cancer, and an accreting body of research suggests that under certain conditions and against certain forms of cancer, fitness may be remarkably protective.

The researchers determined that the most physically active men were the least likely to develop cancer, particularly of the gastrointestinal tract or the lung. Even more striking, the intensity of the exercise was key. The more arduous it was, the more protective it proved. The men who jogged or otherwise exercised fairly intensely for at least 30 minutes a day had “a 50 percent reduction in the risk of dying prematurely from cancer,” says one of the study’s authors.

A review article published in February concluded that the most active people are 24 percent less likely to develop colon cancer than sedentary people are, regardless of their diets, smoking habits or body weight.

Another study, reported that women over age 30 who exercised more than the average for the group had much less risk of developing breast cancer than women who worked out for less than 60 minutes per week.