Achieving a high level of cardiovascular fitness when you’re young can reduce your risk of nine types of cancer decades down the road, say European researchers. They claim the reduction in risk varies between 5% and 42% for these cancers, which include some of the deadliest … lung, liver, stomach and pancreatic cancers, among others.
One major drawback of the study, though, was that it was limited to men only. Its participants were more than a million conscripted members of Sweden’s military force who served between 1968 and 2005, when they were 16 to 25 years old.
All of these young men had initial medical tests that included their cardiovascular fitness level. They were divided into three groups afterward: low, moderate and high levels of cardiovascular health. The researchers defined cardiorespiratory fitness as the ability to do sustained aerobic exercise, such as running, cycling, swimming and climbing.
In a subsequent long-term analysis of their health, the researchers reported 7% of these men subsequently developed at least one cancer during the average monitoring period of 33 years.
Compared with those who had low fitness levels of fitness at the start of their service, those with high cardiovascular fitness were significantly less likely to be diagnosed with any cancer.
The reduction in risk varied from 5% for rectal cancer and 12% for pancreatic cancer, to 20% for kidney cancer, 40% for liver cancer and 42% for lung cancer.
The research team said their study was observational only, so no definite conclusions can be drawn about cause and effect. However, they also pointed to the anti-inflammatory effects of regular exercise in reducing cancer risk, adding their findings seem to show a relationship between better cardiovascular fitness in the young and a better chance of a cancer-free future. The study was published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
Lisa Russell covers health and aging for both West Newsmagazine and Mid Rivers Newsmagazine. She is a West St. Louis County native [Parkway South, class of 1979] and graduate of Mizzou’s journalism school. She and her husband have three grown children.
