Over the years, various studies have shown that regular physical activity can lower the risk of cancer.
A recent study at the University of Oxford showed that running 7,000 steps a day could reduce the risk of developing cancer by 11%.
According to the study with more than 85,000 people in the United Kingdom, the more steps have taken lower opportunities every day to develop up to 13 different types of cancer.
How many steps are needed to reduce the risk of cancer?
“In the study, the participants wore activity trackers who measured both the quantity and the intensity of their daily movement. On average, researchers followed the participants six years later. They found a clear pattern: more steps meant a lower risk of cancer, regardless of how quickly those steps were taken,” Dr. Mhairi Morris, a senior teacher in biochemistry, published in an article on a website of Loughborough.
The benefits began to appear with around 5,000 steps a day – everything below that did not seem to offer much protection, Morris added.
At 9,000 steps, the risk of developing cancer fell by 16%. After 9,000 steps, the benefits went off.
“These findings support the popular recommendation to strive for 10,000 steps a day – not only for general health, but also for cancer prevention.”
Researchers also discovered that the speed did not really matter as soon as the general activity levels were processed. People who use the sitting time for physical activity can also reduce the risk of cancer.
“Our research emphasizes the importance of all forms of movement,” said Dr. Aiden Doherty, professor of biomedical computer science at the Oxford -population Health and senior author of the study, in a statement.
“Whether it is about increasing daily steps, performing light activity or recording moderate to powerful exercise, every level of physical activity seems to contribute to a lower risk of cancer,” he continued.
This study comes at a time when many ordinary cancers, such as breast, kidney, colorectal and uterine cancer, get up all over the world.
“Our findings support and improve the current national and international guidelines for physical activities, which show that people who often have simple activities with low intensity, such as walking, run a lower risk of developing cancer,” Dohertty said.
