Risk reduction of 20 ailments with regular exercise: Review

By Dr. Ananya Mandal, MDNov 16 2010

In a review article researchers have concluded that regular exercise cuts the risk of more than 20 illnesses. Some of these include colon cancer, heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis and stroke said the study published in the International Journal of Clinical Practice.

Author Leslie Alford from the school of physiotherapy at the University of East Anglia said, “Apart from not smoking, being physically active is the most powerful lifestyle choice an individual can make for improved health outcomes.” The review consists of 40 papers published between 2006 and 2010 from all over the world. Dr. Alford added, “The literature reviewed shows that how long people live and how healthy they are depends on a complex mix of factors, including their lifestyle, where they live and even luck… Individuals have an element of control over some of these factors, including obesity, diet, smoking and physical activity… Although the focus of my study was on men’s health, the messages on physical activity are relevant to both sexes and all age groups.”

The paper adds that it is never too late to start taking exercise, with older people seeing benefits from regular activity. As per guidelines people should aim for 150 minutes a week of moderately intense physical activity, such as brisk walking for 30 minutes five days a week. With more vigorous activity 20 minutes three days a week should suffice. A combination of moderate and vigorous exercise can be used to meet the guidelines.

Alford said, “Ideally, to gain maximum health benefits people should exercise, not smoke, eat a healthy diet and have a body mass index of less than 25… The more of these healthy traits an individual has, the less likely they are to develop a range of chronic disorders… Even if people can’t give up smoking and maintain a healthy weight, they can still gain health benefits from increasing the amount of regular exercise they take.”

Some major findings of the paper include –

• Exercise on a regular basis is linked to a lower risk of stroke and coronary heart disease.
• Exercise reduces the risk of certain cancers like colon and prostate cancer, as well as type 2 diabetes, depression, obesity, hypertension and osteoporosis. Physical activity also lowers cancer death rates. Regular exercise reduces cancer risk by up to 16%.
• Regular exercise reduces the risk of sexual dysfunction in men.
• Physical activity seems to decrease the risk of dementia in the elderly.

According to Dr Rachel Thompson, deputy head of science for the World Cancer Research Fund, “There is now very strong evidence that being physically active can reduce risk of cancer… For example, we estimate that about 12 per cent of bowel cancer cases in the UK could be prevented through people being more active… The evidence also shows that physical activity also probably reduces risk of breast cancer and cancer of the womb lining.”