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Physical exercise and reduction in risk of cancer

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

Exercise and incidence of cancer

  • investigation of vigorous intermittent lifestyle physical activity (VILPA) in short bouts (<= 1 and <=2 minutes) incident cancer among nonexercising adults
    • in this prospective cohort study of 22,398 self-reported nonexercising adults, a minimum dose of 3.4 to 3.6 minutes of VILPA per day was associated with a 17% to 18% reduction in total incident cancer risk compared with no VILPA

    • a median daily VILPA of 4.5 minutes was associated with a 31% to 32% reduction in physical activity-related cancer incidence

    • findings of this large cohort study suggest that 3 to 4 minutes of VILPA per day may be associated with decreased cancer incidence risk; thus, VILPA may be a promising intervention for cancer prevention among individuals unable or unmotivated to exercise in leisure time

A cohort study demonstrated that balanced levels of MPA (moderate physical activity), VPA, and MSA (muscle strengthening activity) combined may be associated with optimal reductions of mortality risk (1)

  • higher-than-recommended levels of MPA and VPA may further lower the risk of cancer and all-cause mortality, respectively

Association between physical activity (PA) intensity and certain cancer sites, such as breast and colon cancers, is dose dependent and has a greater risk reduction associated with vigorous physical activity (VPA) compared with lower intensities (2)

  • vigorous intermittent lifestyle physical activity (VILPA) refers to brief and sporadic (eg, up to 1-2 minutes [min]) bouts of VPA during daily living, eg, bursts of very fast walking or stair climbing (3)

Reference:

  • Stamatakis E, Ahmadi MN, Friedenreich CM, et al. Vigorous Intermittent Lifestyle Physical Activity and Cancer Incidence Among Nonexercising Adults: The UK Biobank Accelerometry Study. JAMA Oncol. Published online July 27, 2023. doi:10.1001/jamaoncol.2023.1830
  • Matthews CE et al. Amount and intensity of leisure-time physical activity and lower cancer risk.J Clin Oncol. 2020;38(7):686-697.doi:10.1200/JCO.19.02407
  • Stamatakis E et al. Untapping the health enhancing potential of vigorous intermittent lifestyle physical activity (VILPA): rationale, scoping review, and a 4-pillar research frameworks. Sports Med. 2021;51(1):1-10. doi:10.1007/s40279-020-01368-8

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