Exercise is known to help combat obesity, which can lead to other serious health issues, and new research is only proving those preventive tactics to be effective. Specifically, new research is showing that consistent exercise can also help reduce the risk of death from colon cancer.
Researchers from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the American Cancer Society aimed to find out if physical activity altered the risk of cancer incidence and mortality.
The American Cancer Society, according to MedlinePlus, cites colon cancer as one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths in the United States.
According to United Press International, the scientists studied over 150,000 men and women, and compared their physical activity levels between 1982 and 1997. Then, they looked at colon cancer diagnoses and deaths during the years of 1998 to 2005.
The authors of the study found that those who exercised consistently for at least 10 years had the lowest risk of colon cancer death.
Kathleen Y. Wolin, lead author of the study, said in a statement:
People who were consistently active over the course of their adulthood had a lower risk of death from colon cancer than those who were sedentary, she said.
People often wonder around the start of a new year whether exercise really will help them stay healthy or whether its already too late. Its never too late to start exercising, but its also never too early to start being active. Thats the message we hope people will take away from this study.
The study was published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers, and Prevention.
