Exercise cuts the risk of colon cancer

Taking exercise can cut the risk of the most common kind of bowel cancer by a quarter, research suggests.

13 Feb 2009

American researchers writing in the British Journal of Cancer reviewed 52 previous studies worked out that the most active people are 24% less likely to develop colon cancer. Cancer of the colon is the second most common cause of cancer deaths in the developed world.

The study covered many different types of activity, such as occupational activity and well and running and going to gym.

The benefits of exercise were clearly shown in the studies reviewed, providing further evidence for the effects of lifestyle on the risk of cancer.

In general, around half of all cancers can be prevented by changes in lifestyle.