With certain cancers increasing in the U.S., incorporating ways to lower your chance of developing one is key. Now, new research finds that a simple daily habit could lower your risk of 13 types of cancer. Specifically, researchers found that walking regularly and getting a certain number of steps could make a difference.
Meet the Experts: Steven Quay, M.D., Ph.D., an experienced scientist-physician whose own research focuses on cancer treatment and prevention; and Melinda Irwin, M.D., deputy director of Yale Cancer Center and associate dean of research at the Yale School of Public Health.
Led by scientists at the National Institutes of Health and the University of Oxford and published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, the study followed around 85,000 adults who, at study enrollment, were asked to wear wrist accelerometers (step counters that also track activity intensity) for one week. After an average of 5.8 years, over 2,600 people had been diagnosed with one of 13 types of cancer.
Below, experts share their thoughts on the findings and what they could mean for exercise recommendations and cancer prevention at large.
What researchers found
All intensity levels tracked by the accelerometers were associated with a 26% lower risk of developing cancer. However, the more activity a person did, the better the health outcome. The baseline was 5,000 daily steps, and the more participants walked, the more significantly the risk dropped. For example, 7,000 daily steps were associated with an 11% lower cancer risk than 5,000, and 9,000 daily steps were associated with 16% lower risk, which was the lowest risk of all.
Above 9,000 steps, the risk was more difficult to discern and seemed to plateau. These findings imply that the popular 10,000 daily steps recommendation doesn’t fully apply when it comes to cancer risk. However, they do affirm the importance of walking daily.
“The study reinforces what public health has long suspected: More movement, in any form, seems to matter,” says Steven Quay, M.D., Ph.D., an experienced scientist-physician whose own research focuses on cancer treatment and prevention. “Even light activity, not just vigorous workouts, was linked to lower cancer risk.”
The study also points out that at some point, step intensity is less of a factor. “Step intensity didn’t matter much, which is fascinating,” he says. “It implies that volume trumps vigor. In other words, just moving more, regardless of pace, may be enough to confer protection. That’s an empowering message for aging populations or those with limited mobility.”
Dr. Quay adds that what’s especially new here is the monitoring precision: The accelerometers could quantify how much activity correlated with cancer reduction across 13 cancer types. “It suggests that how we accumulate movement throughout the day could be just as impactful as structured exercise,” Dr. Quay concludes.
The biggest limitation presented by this research is the fact that walk tracking took place over the short period of one week, which “might not reflect someone’s long-term behavior,” explains Dr. Quay.
He adds: “People with better health may naturally move more, and that’s hard to fully adjust for.” Put differently, early undiagnosed cancers could be lowering physical activity, not the other way around.
However, because these findings are consistent with those of other large-scale studies, they are promising. “It’s a reminder that small changes, like more walking or standing, might yield long-term benefits,” Dr. Quay says.
How exercise lowers cancer risk
Exercise, such as walking, might lower cancer risk via changes in inflammation, metabolism, and immune function, explains Melinda Irwin, M.D., deputy director of Yale Cancer Center and associate dean of research at the Yale School of Public Health. “These biomarkers have been shown to increase cancer risk, and some trials have found a reduction in these biomarkers with exercise,” she adds.
Dr. Quay concurs. “Exercise is not just about burning calories,” he says. “It’s a systemic reset button.”
The findings add to the growing body of evidence that physical activity may lower cancer risk, and that even light intensity activities—again, like walking—lower cancer risk, says Dr. Irwin. Results were also similar after adjusting for body mass index across different body types, she adds, suggesting that the takeaway applies to people of all sizes.
The bottom line
This study gives us yet another reason to remain active—and prioritize it. Of course, more research is needed to delve into specific cancers and exercise habits, but it still serves as a good reminder that moving your body is rarely a bad thing.
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