|
Carmel Sparke RUNNING for the bus , taking the stairs and vigorous domestic chores may help ward off cancer , with research showing a few minutes of incidental vigorous exercise a day can be oncoprotective .
The University of Sydney researchers say 3.5 minutes of intense cleaning and carrying groceries was linked to an 18 % lower incidence of cancer , compared to those people who did
|
not get their heart racing .
And just 4.5 minutes of such exercise — dubbed vigorous intermittent lifestyle physical activity ( VILPA ) — was tied to a 32 % reduction in risk of physical activity-related cancer .
The researchers stressed that while their results were observational , they pointed to a strong link between exercise and cancer incidence as shown in previous studies .
These included other
|
early-stage trials that showed intermittent vigorous physical activity led to rapid improvements in cardiorespiratory fitness , which could provide a biological explanation for the reduced cancer risk .
Other likely contributors included the role of physical activity in improving insulin sensitivity and chronic inflammation , they wrote .
Lead author Professor Emmanuel Stamatakis said it
|
was “ remarkable ” to see how upping the intensity of daily tasks in short bursts of around one minute had an effect .
“ VILPA was a bit like applying the principles of high-intensity interval training to your everyday life ,” he said .
The researchers used data from over 22,000 UK Biobank participants ( mean age 62 ) without cancer at baseline and who reported no structured exercise in their leisure time .
|
The patients wore wrist activity trackers for a week to measure the intensity , frequency and duration of VILPA .
They were followed up for seven years , during which 2356 new cancer events — including 1084 physical activity-related cancers — were reported .
“ The findings [ indicate ] small amounts of VILPA were associated with lower incident cancer risk ,” the authors said . JAMA Oncol 2023 ; 27 Jul .
|