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Exercise,
sleep cuts cancer risk: Study
Regular physical activity can significantly lower a
woman’s risk of developing cancer, but skimping
on sleep can eliminate those gains, a new study has
found.
In a long-term study of nearly 6,000 US women, researchers
found that those who exercised the most had a 25 percent
lower chance of developing cancer than those who were
the least active.
But among younger, physically active women, those who
slept less than seven hours a night had a 47 percent
higher risk of being diagnosed with cancer than those
who regularly got a good night’s rest.
“Greater participation in physical activity has
consistently been associated with reduced risk of cancer
incidence at several sites, including breast and colon
cancers,” James McClain, a cancer prevention fellow
at the National Cancer Institute and lead author of
the study, said Monday.
“Short duration sleep appears to have opposing
effects of physical activity on several key hormonal
and metabolic parameters, which is why we looked at
how it affected the exercise/cancer risk relationship.”
It is not yet known exactly why exercice reduces cancer
risks but researchers believe it could be due to the
lower body weight, improved immune function and hormone
levels associated with regular physical activity.
Insufficient sleep has been linked to high risks of
developing a number of conditions including heart disease,
obesity and diabetes but, again, researchers have not
determined exactly how sleep prevents disease.
The study was presented at a conference in Washington
sponsored by the American Association for Cancer Research.
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