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Physically
Active Lifestyle May Prevent Cancer Deaths Among Men
Staying fit and trim may do more than keep your heart healthy,
researchers report. It could also reduce your risk of dying
from cancer.
In a 25-year study, men who were most fit at the start
of the study were less likely to die from cancer. And women
who were overweight when the study began were at higher
risk of dying from cancer.
The current recommendations from experts today emphasize
a physically active lifestyle and the prevention of overweight/obesity.
The study's lead author, Dr. Kelly R. Evenson, stated "Our
results support those recommendations."
Evenson and her team examined the relationship between fitness
and obesity and the risk of dying from all types of cancer.
Evenson, who is at the University of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill, said that "it would be nice in future studies
if we could examine the relationship of fitness and obesity
on certain types of cancers, such as breast cancer."
The findings are published in the February issue of the
journal Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise.
The study included 2,585 women and 2,890 men who were followed
from the early- to mid-1970s to 1998. At the start of the
study, volunteers performed a treadmill test to measure
their heart health and had their body mass index, or BMI,
measured. BMI is a measure of weight in relation to height
used to gauge obesity.
After taking into account factors that could influence health,
Evenson's team found that the fittest men were about half
as likely to die from cancer as less fit men. Fitness levels
did not have a significant effect on cancer deaths in women,
however.
But a woman's BMI at the start of the study was related
to her chances of dying from cancer during the next 25 years,
according to the report. Women with the highest BMI were
almost 50% more likely to die from cancer than less obese
women.
Evenson's team did not examine how fitness and obesity may
affect the odds of dying from cancer, but physical activity
is believed to reduce cancer risk by influencing levels
of certain hormones and growth factors, by decreasing body
fat and possibly by enhancing the immune system.
SOURCE: Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 2003;35:270-277.
Article Source: Reuters Health
Article Author: Merritt McKinney
Net Reference 89
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