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MyHealthNewsDaily
Our culture of sitting may be responsible for 173,000 cases of cancer each year, according to new estimates.
Physical inactivity is linked to as many as 49,000 cases of breast cancer and 43,000 cases of colon cancer a year in the United States, said Christine Friedenreich, an epidemiologist at Alberta Health Services-Cancer Care in Canada.
Breast and colon cancer appear to be the cancers most influenced by physical activity, according to the research we have to date, Friedenreich said, in presenting her findings here today (Nov. 3) at the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) conference.
But her study also suggested that an estimated 37,200 cases of lung cancer, 30,600 cases of prostate cancer, 12,000 cases of endometrial cancer and 1,800 cases of ovarian cancer could be prevented if people were more physically active.
The findings add to a growing body of research indicating that prolonged sitting has lethal consequences, regardless of how active people are the rest of the day.
"It seems highly likely that the longer you sit, the higher your risk [of cancer]," said Neville Owen, head of behavioral epidemiology at the Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute in Australia, who also presented findings at the meeting. Owen's study showed that U.S. adults, on average, sit 15.5 hours a day.
The amount of time we spend standing up and walking "makes up such a tiny sliver of a person's waking hours," Owen said.
However, there's good news. It seems that long, uninterrupted periods of sitting are what is most unhealthy, and that by frequently breaking up long bouts of sitting with just a few minutes of light exercise, a person can lower his or her cancer risk. Owen's study found that one- to two-minute breaks from sitting can reduce levels of molecules in the body that are linked with cancer risk.
This research reveals that there's more to physical activity than working out on a treadmill. Alice Bender, a spokeswoman for AICR, noted that someone who exercises 30 minutes a day — the recommended amount of physical activity — is really only active for 3 percent of his or her day.
While getting to the gym or doing other regular exercise is still important, it is not the whole story, Bender said. The AICR recommends we take small breaks from sitting during our day to "infuse the remaining 97 percent of [our] day with short periods of activity that can protect against many cancers," she said.
Exercise and cancer
In Friedenreich's study, postmenopausal women who engaged in moderate to vigorous daily exercise had lower levels of C-reactive protein in their bodies after one year compared with women who did not engage in this level of activity. Low levels of this protein have been linked to reduced breast cancer risk.
C-reactive protein is a marker of inflammation, an immune response that normally helps your body fight off infection. Chronically high levels of inflammation may damage cells and possibly increase cancer risk.
Using data from her study and previous work on cancer indicators, Friedenreich estimated that daily exercise reduced the risk of breast and colon cancer by 25 to 30 percent.
"For many of the most common cancers, it seems like something as simple as a brisk walk for 30 minutes a day can help reduce cancer risk," Friedenreich said.
Owen's study suggested that even very brief exercise may reduce cancer risk. In the study, the one- to two-minute breaks were associated with smaller waists, less insulin resistance (an early sign of diabetes) and lower levels of inflammation— all risk factors for cancer.
Get up and move
The American Institute for Cancer Research recommends the following tips for breaking up your sitting sessions:
- Set a timer on your computer to remind you every hour that it’s time to step away from your desk, and take a short walk down the hall.
- Instead of emailing a co-worker, chat with him or her over a walk.
- If possible, stand up and walk around during phone calls and meetings.
- Keep light hand weights in your office to use while reading email or talking on the phone.
Pass it on: Sitting down for prolonged periods may increase cancer risk, researchers say.
7 Cancers You Can Ward Off with Exercise
10 Deadliest Cancers and Why There's No Cure
7 Health Woes Brough on by Winter
Leave a Comment:
People has got cancer all the way back to Adam and setting down has nothing to with it, my god what do these people do, set around all day thinking this stuff up.
I thought colon cancer had to do with genetics
You really are a moron. Oh, but I guess if you say it has nothing to do with it, then it must not. Half-wit.
Also, moron, it's "sit," not "set."
i like it when teachers are watching Pack-ups *
This article does not separate causality and association. The sun rises in the east for those who got cancer also, but the sun did not cause it. The people live in a republic - but that did not cause it either.
Is sitting the cause? If so - how? Or is it that something else associated with a sedentary lifestyle that causes cancer? Or is this just 2 data elements that just overlap but have no impact on each other? Or is cancer the cause of 'too much sitting'? Which is the initiator?
How about running a valid story instead of a scare story. Yes - exercise is 'good for you'. But how does exercise prevent these cancers? Is lack of movement the initiator of the cancers? Or is it the coffee drunk by people? Or is it the monitors in front of most people? Good journalism is more than this story.
"The sun rises in the east for those who got cancer also,"
And you don't even to understand correlation. The sun sets in the east for everyone. Therefore, correlation with cancer is zero.
???
What a crock. A minute or two of running around your desk or sales counter will counteract cancer risk? On the upside, however, let's encourage young people to skip college and all that sitting in class and all-night (sit-down) studying thereby killing two birds with one stone--lower their cancer risk and avoid student loans that will follow them the rest of their lives :)
Why don't they just write an article already that's titled, "Everything Causes Cancer".
Kids, I'm headed toward age 81. This is my 64th year of competition as a runner. I'm thin, healthy, no prescriptions. I have a half marathon this Sunday(13.1 miles). I train twice a day and total 7-8 miles a day. Young or old, START NOW. Walk first and then jog a little/walk a little. You don't have to run fast. Make it part of your life style.
True, I noticed that the people who are at their desks the least, are usually the first to go.
So what about those of us with desk jobs who get extremely busy some days? I guarantee you, we'd get laid off if we set a timer to "walk around once an hour" instead of doing our work.
This is one of the main reasons I hate having a office job, but then I could be unemployed...
A lot of toxic chemicals are stored in fat tissue so if you can get rid of fat you will lower your toxic burden on your body.
Exercise more and bring onset of early arthritis which is a wonderful thing. Your joints ache 24x7 and don't want to move without extreme pain but you can always have artificial joints implanted every 5-8 years and that's another life enhancing experience to be enjoyed multiple times per joint.
More medical baloney. I know lots and lots of athletes that have had cancer, have died from cancer and may get cancer and they exercise all the time. I am so sick of reading all the inaccurate stories from the medical field and think that ALL FUNDING for research should be fully investigated since so much baloney is now coming out of this field. We get our genes from our parents and grandparents and THAT is what determines how we are going to die be it cancer, heart attack, and when we are going to die. All doctors do for us is charge us the big bucks to help us live a few months or years longer when our bodies start to shut down. The reality is that we ALL have to go sometime but doctors intend to make a fortune off of us before we do go.
Yawh, all you morons, hear yeah.
All you got to do is look at your packin face in the mirror.
Focus on your pack up face and you will realize what adjustment needs to be done.
This action will trigger your body to activate your exterior to MOVE.
The more you look into your packinuglyface themoreyoumove, this way you kill the cancer cell.
Another junk science story. Nothing to see here.
Awe man! I don't wanna stand for the rest of my life!
It's just another piece of the puzzle that leads to diseases of all sorts. Muscles were made to be used (not abused, but certainly used). Sitting in traffic, sitting all day in an office and ending the day with more sitting at home is not good for anyone.
The article is only saying that people need to be cognizant of this and get up and move a little many times during the day. It gets the blood circulating. There are many ways to sneak in a bit of movement and all these things help offset the "slug" effect.
It's also better for your eyes and overall thinking ability because better circulation helps ward off sleepiness, boredom and loss of concentration.
No one is saying you have to do push-ups or run up and down the stairs.
Why are there so many comments bashing this article? Statistics are gathered to get a better understanding of how today's living patterns affect the general publics' overall health.
*It's also not good for an car to sit for weeks on end without being used either nor is it good to only use it for in-city/heavy traffic driving all the time. Isn't it recommended to get it out for good long rides where it can get humming along?
Why do you think the people of Sardinia (Italy) — for example — live longer and healthier lives? They are not sitting and sitting like clumps of clay.
It's just another piece of the puzzle that leads to diseases of all sorts. Muscles were made to be used (not abused, but certainly used). Sitting in traffic, sitting all day in an office and ending the day with more sitting at home is not good for anyone.
The article is only saying that people need to be cognizant of this and get up and move a little many times during the day. It gets the blood circulating. There are many ways to sneak in a bit of movement and all these things help offset the "slug" effect.
It's also better for your eyes and overall thinking ability because better circulation helps ward off sleepiness, boredom and loss of concentration.
No one is saying you have to do push-ups or run up and down the stairs.
Why are there so many comments bashing this article? Statistics are gathered to get a better understanding of how today's living patterns affect the general publics' overall health.
*It's also not good for an car to sit for weeks on end without being used either nor is it good to only use it for in-city/heavy traffic driving all the time. Isn't it recommended to get it out for good long rides where it can get humming along?
Why do you think the people of Sardinia (Italy) — for example — live longer and healthier lives? They are not sitting and sitting like clumps of clay.