Exercise such as cycling or going for a brisk walk can stave off 13 types of cancer, new research has found.

    A study of around 1.4 million people found that those who did more physical activity in their leisure time dramatically reduced their risk of developing the diseases. They were 27 percent less likely to develop liver cancer, for example, and were 26 and 23 percent less likely respectively to develop lung and kidney cancer. Other cancers which exercise was found to protect against included endometrial, myeloid, leukaemia, colon, head and neck, bladder, rectal and breast.

    Overall, a higher level of physical activity reduced the risk of suffering any type of cancer by seven percent. Dr. Marilie Gammon, who reviewed the study, said: "In sum these exciting findings underscore the importance of leisure-time physical activity as a potential risk reduction strategy to decrease the cancer burden.  "The widespread generalisability of these findings is reinforced by the suggestion the associations persist regardless of BMI or smoking status." The researchers pooled data from 12 US and European studies carried out from 1987 to 2004 and compared levels of physical activity with the incidence of 26 kinds of cancer. 

    During an average of eleven years of follow-up observation, 186,932 cancers were identified among the 1.4 million participants. Previous research has shown only two-and-a-half hours of moderate activity a week, such as mowing the lawn or DIY, can suppress inflammation in the body which is believed to contribute to disease. 

    Middle-aged participants who got off the sofa and became active were found to have lower 'inflammatory markers' in their blood at the end of the ten-year study of over 4,000 civil servants by University College London.

    Inflammation levels remained lower in those approaching and living in retirement who were physically active compared with those who did relatively little. A survey last year found British fitness levels are among the worst in Europe with 44 percent of adults doing no moderate exercise, defined as exercise that raises the heart rate of causes sweating.

Source: QNA