A study led by researchers from Oxford Population Health has found that daily physical activity is linked to a lower risk of cancer. The number of steps taken daily may be more important for cancer risk than the intensity of activity.
The study, published today in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, is among the first to evaluate how lower cancer risk is associated with light intensity activities such as casual walking, shopping and performing household chores.
The researchers used data from 85,394 UK Biobank participants (median age of 63) to examine how different activity levels might influence the risk of cancer. The participants wore wrist-based activity trackers that tracked total daily activity, activity intensity, and daily step count over a period of one week. The researchers then looked at the relationship between the daily averages and future cancer diagnoses in 2,633 participants over an average follow-up period of 5.8 years.
Key findings
- Individuals with the highest total amount of daily physical activity had a 26% lower risk of developing cancer than individuals who had the lowest amount of daily physical activity.
- Light-intensity and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity were associated with lower cancer risk, reinforcing the potential benefits of even light daily movement.
- Higher daily step counts, but not the pace of the steps, were associated with lower risk of cancer, with risk appearing to plateau at approximately 9,000 steps per day.
- The cancer risk was 11% lower for those taking 7,000 steps per day compared with those taking 5,000 steps per day, and 16% lower for those taking 9,000 steps per day.
- Sedentary behaviour alone was not directly associated with cancer risk, but replacing sedentary time with physical activity contributed to lower risk levels.
Aiden Doherty, Professor of Biomedical Informatics at Oxford Population Health and senior author of the paper said ‘Our research highlights the importance of all forms of movement. Whether it’s increasing daily steps, engaging in light activity, or incorporating moderate-to-vigorous exercise, any level of physical activity appears to contribute to lower cancer risk.
‘Our findings support and enhance current national and international physical activity guidelines, showing that people who often engage in simple low-intensity activities such as walking have a lower risk of developing cancer’.
The study builds on previous research linking physical activity to cancer prevention but provides more precise data using wearable accelerometers instead of self-reported activity levels. The associations between physical activity and cancer risk remained even after researchers adjusted for demographic factors, lifestyle factors, body mass index (BMI), and other health conditions.
The research team included experts from the National Institutes of Health National Cancer Institute, Oxford Population Health, and the Champalimaud Foundation. This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health’s Intramural Research Program, and the National Institutes of Health’s Oxford Cambridge Scholars Program.