Researchers say get moving, and point to national exercise guidelines
By HealthDay News
Add greater risk of kidney and bladder cancer to
the long list of why a lifetime of sitting on the sofa isn't good for
your health, a new study suggests.
Specifically, lifetime
recreational inactivity was associated with a 73 percent increased risk
of bladder cancer and a 77 percent increased risk of kidney cancer.
The findings add to growing evidence that inactivity may be a significant risk factor for cancer, the researchers said.
"We
hope that findings like ours will motivate inactive people to engage in
some form of physical activity," said study senior author Kirsten
Moysich. She is a professor of oncology at Roswell Park Cancer Institute
in Buffalo, N.Y.
[post_ads]"You don't have to run marathons to reduce your
cancer risk, but you have to do something -- even small adjustments like
taking the stairs instead of the elevator, walking around the block a
couple of times on your lunch hour or parking the car far away from the
store when you go to the supermarket," she said in an institute news
release.
The study included 160 kidney cancer patients, 208
bladder cancer patients and 766 people without cancer. Cancer risks were
similar whether people were obese or not, the researchers said.
The
study was only designed to show an association between a sedentary
lifestyle and the risk of these cancers; it cannot prove a
cause-and-effect relationship.
"Our findings underscore how
important it is to maintain a healthy lifestyle, including getting and
staying active," study first author Rikki Cannioto, an assistant
professor of oncology at Roswell Park, said.
"The Department of
Health and Human Services recommends 150 minutes each week of moderate
physical activity or 75 minutes each week of vigorous physical activity
as a way to generate significant, lasting health benefits," Cannioto
said.
The study was published recently in the journal Cancer Epidemiology.
More information
The U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute offers a physical activity.
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