SouthernWorldwide.com – A new observational study suggests that reducing your risk of cancer death might be as simple as incorporating brief physical activity breaks throughout your day.
Researchers from the University of Glasgow conducted a study examining the link between prolonged sedentary behavior and cancer. Their findings indicate that individuals who regularly interspersed periods of sitting with physical activity had a decreased risk of dying from cancer.
The study’s lead researcher, Dr. Susan Spear, stated that while the research does not definitively prove that sitting causes cancer, it strongly suggests an association between extended, uninterrupted sitting and a higher risk of cancer mortality. She emphasized that these findings support existing public health advice, highlighting regular movement as a crucial aspect of cancer prevention.
To conduct their research, scientists tracked the sedentary habits of 91,292 volunteer participants in the U.K. These volunteers wore wrist-worn movement-tracking devices for seven days. The study then followed the health outcomes of these participants for approximately 12 years.
The researchers defined prolonged sedentary behavior as any continuous period lasting at least 30 minutes, during which at least 90% of the time was spent being sedentary.
Conversely, interrupted sitting was defined as sessions that were either shorter than 30 minutes or were broken up by brief intervals of physical activity.
The study, published in PLOS Medicine, reported that each additional hour of prolonged sedentary behavior per day was associated with a 10% increase in the risk of cancer death.
Conversely, replacing one hour of sitting daily with light activity was linked to a 12% reduction in cancer death risk. Swapping 30 minutes of sitting with moderate activity was associated with an 8% lower risk, and even replacing just five minutes of sitting with vigorous activity showed a significant 22% decrease in risk.
Light physical activity was categorized by the researchers as activities like walking at a slow pace and performing household tasks such as ironing or washing dishes.
The researchers advised that these findings should be interpreted with caution, as the study design does not allow for definitive conclusions about causality.
Furthermore, they noted that the volunteer participants might not be representative of the general population. They also pointed out that the activity monitors only captured behavior during a limited timeframe and did not provide context for the sedentary periods, such as whether it was due to work, watching television, or driving.
Dr. Spear mentioned that previous research has already established links between sedentary behavior and issues such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and various types of cancer.
She highlighted the significance of the current study’s finding that the *manner* in which people sit appears to be important, not just the total duration. Dr. Spear suggested that breaking up sitting time with regular movement could offer tangible health benefits.
According to Dr. Spear, several other straightforward lifestyle changes can be highly effective in lowering the risk of cancer death.
Her recommendations include standing and moving every 30 to 60 minutes, taking short walking breaks, particularly after meals, opting for the stairs, walking while on phone calls, and integrating light activity throughout the day.
She concluded that these habits, when combined with regular exercise, maintaining a healthy weight, limiting alcohol consumption, avoiding smoking, and staying up-to-date with recommended cancer screenings, can contribute to reducing the risk of breast cancer and other chronic diseases.
