Active men less likely to die from cancer

Active men less likely to die from cancer
Wednesday May 28 2008 16:46 IST ANI

London, May 28 (ANI): Men who take regular moderate exercise are at a reduced risk of dying from cancer than couch potatoes, according to a new study by Swedish researchers.

The team found that the cancer death rate in active men who walked or cycled at least 30 minutes daily fell by a third.

The authors said that active men have a 34 per cent lower chance of being killed by cancer than those who do not, reports the Scotsman.

The researchers monitored the health and physical activity levels of 40,708 men aged 45 and 79 for seven years.

During that time, 3,714 of the participants developed cancer and 1,153 died from their disease.

The findings showed that exercise had a significant influence on cancer survival and a smaller impact on incidence.

According to the results, men who walked or cycled at least 30 minutes a day were 34 per cent less likely to die from cancer than men who exercised less or did nothing at all.

The same activities only led to a 5 per cent reduction in cancer rates, a result that could be due to chance.

However, a more rigorous programme of walking and cycling for between an hour and an hour and a half a day was linked to a 16 per cent lower incidence of cancer.

The study is published in the British Journal of Cancer.