Exercise Lowers Colon Cancer Risk

by Ryan Halvorson

Making News:

Here’s another addition to the growing list of positive benefits of regular exercise. A study published online in the February 10 issue of the British Journal of Cancer (2009; 100, 611–16) has determined that regular exercisers are 24% less likely to develop colon cancer than those who exercise the least. The authors reviewed 52 published studies from 1984 through June 2008 and found that all kinds of physical activity—from swimming to digging—provided protective effects. According to the study, colorectal cancer is the third most common type of cancer, with more than 100,000 people in the United States diagnosed each year. “What’s really compelling is that we see the association between exercise and lower colon cancer risk regardless of how physical activity was measured in the studies,” stated lead author Kathleen Y. Wolin, ScD. “And it holds for men and women. There is an ever-growing body of evidence that the behavior choices we make affect our cancer risk. Physical activity is at the top of the list of ways that you can reduce your risk of colon cancer.”