Exercise lowers cancer risk, even for smokers

  Stop Smoking and Start Exercising to Lower Colorectal Cancer Risk

Men who report being at least moderately active at work have a lower risk of developing colon and rectal cancer than those who are more sedentary, according to findings published recently in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention (Vol. 10, No.3). This protective effect held even though all the men were smokers.

"I would definitely not suggest that it’s okay to keep smoking as long as you are active," cautions lead author Lisa H. Colbert, PhD, a cancer prevention fellow in the division of clinical sciences at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland.

"My study doesn’t really suggest that. It would be prudent to quit smoking, but if you don’t quit, being physically active may reduce your risk of getting colorectal cancer," she adds.

Other studies have also found that exercise and physical activity reduce a person’s risk of developing a host of serious ailments, including heart disease, stroke, obesity and certain types of cancer. While it is known that smoking causes lung cancer, it is also increases a person’s chances of developing colon and rectal cancer.

The study completed by Colbert and her colleagues was based on information collected for a Finnish project begun in 1985, which tested the value of vitamins E and A in preventing cancer. The authors write that their study is unique because it looked at smokers as "a group that does not practice optimal health behaviors." Examining the smokers’ cancer risk allowed the researchers to separate out the effect of exercise from an "overall healthy lifestyle."

The researchers looked at the colon and rectum cancer rates in some 29,000 men aged 50 to 69. On average, the men had smoked five or more cigarettes a day for 36 years. The men were questioned about the amount of physical activity involved in their jobs, if they were employed, as well as whether they were active in their leisure time.

Men who were active at work and leisure had the greatest benefit. The risk of colon and rectal cancer among these men who reported moderate to heavy activity on the job and were the most active off the job was one-third that of men who were sedentary. Exercise alone during leisure time did not appear to have an impact on cancer risk, although this finding may be influenced by the older age of the men studied and the lack of "vigorous leisure-time" activity they reported, the authors write.

"The two best things a person can do for their health is to avoid smoking, or quit if they do, and engage in regular physical activity. I would not choose between the two," says Michael Thun, MD, chief of epidemiological studies for the American Cancer Society (ACS).

ACS guidelines suggest that people engage in at least 30 minutes of moderate activity for most days of the week, he says. No amount of activity or exercise would ever prevent all of the ill effects that smoking can cause, says Thun.

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