Want to live longer? Sure, anyone does–but cancer survivors especially want to lengthen the healthy years they have left.
And now a new study published in the Journal of Physical Activity & Health says there’s one easy way to live longer after cancer: Exercise regularly.
The study, which was led by researcher Kathleen Y. Wolin, found that cancer survivors who stayed physically active with aerobic sports were nearly 50 percent more likely to live longer than those who did little to no exercise.
“Many cancer survivors are living longer due to earlier diagnosis and treatment improvements, and their numbers are increasing rapidly,” writes Loyola Medicine in a written statement. “There has been extensive research showing that among generally healthy, cancer-free populations physical activity extends longevity. But there has been relatively little such research on physical activity among cancer survivors.”
Studying over 1,000 older men previously diagnosed with cancer, Wolin and her team of researchers looked at how physical activity–specifically, the rate of physical activity–affected their longevity rates long after beating cancer. While diet too can help lengthen a person’s lifespan after the disease, recently researchers theorized exercise too could make people live longer.
To find out if it did, Wolin looked at questionnaires the men completed in the 1980s, which detailed their physical activities, such as how much they walked or participated in recreational sports. Then she looked at follow up questionnaires completed in the 1990s and 2000s, which further detailed their exercise habits.
After adjusting the data to account for other factors that may increase the risk of death, such as age, use of cigarettes, and body mass index, Wolin found that those who exercised the most were nearly 50 percent more likely to live longer than those who hardly exercised–about the equivalent of 15 minutes of exercise 5 days a week.
“This finding was adjusted for age, smoking, body mass index, early parental mortality and dietary variables,” says Loyola Medicine. “There were similar findings for mortality from cancer and cardiovascular disease: the most physically active cancer survivors were 38 percent less likely to die of cancer and 49 percent less likely to die of cardiovascular disease during the follow-up period.”
In conclusion, Wolin says this study shows just how important exercise is for everyone–especially for those in remission from cancer. While exercising more can’t guarantee you won’t get cancer again, doing so seems to increase a person’s longevity. In turn, those who didn’t exercise as much were more likely to die from cardiovascular disease or cancer, two conditions that are somewhat preventable.
And her recommendation? Stay physically active–and don’t just casually do it either. Those who casually exercised in the study were nearly 50 percent more likely to die earlier.
What You Should Do
Even if you don’t have cancer, getting in plenty of aerobic exercise is always a good thing, especially for preventing cancer and cardiovascular disease in the future. Your best bet? Ease into exercise by trying walking or swimming; later on amp up the intensity by running or doing cross training instead.
Readers: What’s your favorite way of exercising?
Source:
Cancer Survivors Who Stay Physically Active Live Longer, According to Researchers – LoyolaMedicine.org
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