Physical activity can cut risk for women and men by a quarter
Researchers in 52 different studies have all found that cases of colon cancer were 24 per cent lower in active people compared with the least active participants. The findings have been published in the British Journal of Cancer. The studies classified exercise in several ways including running, going to the gym or doing manual work. Researchers believe that physical activity reduces inflammation and reduces levels of growth hormones and insulin which help create tumours. One of the studies defined the most active participants as people who took a brisk walk for 5 to 6 hours a week, while the least active group did the same for less than 30 minutes a week. More research needs to be done to take into account racial origin, weight and diet in order to personalize recommendations on how people can best cut the risk of getting the disease, as colon cancer is the most common form of bowel cancer.