Daily Cancer Awareness Campaign- Physical fitness

“Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood.”

-Marie Curie.

Despite evidence that cancer death rates are declining, the absolute number of new cancer cases continues to increase.There is clear evidence that certain human behaviours are influencing these increases.Of the 7 million deaths from cancer worldwide in 2001, an estimated 2.43 million (35%) were attributable to nine potentially modifiable risk factors. A promiscuous mix of factors potentiate the risk of getting cancer. Hence, it is importance to adopt a lifestyle wherein our daily life practises mitigate the threats of this deadly disease and the impact of the factors causing the same.

One of the best ways to prevent cancer is through physical fitness. Well, it seems normal to connect the physical fitness of a person to diseases like asthma, obesity etc. But is it really related to cancer? Can we establish a direct link between these two factors or parameters? Well, science says yes.

Research has shown that regular exercise has a protective effect against breast cancer, prostate cancer and many types of cancers. In fact, the most extensively studied cancers in relation to physical activity, with 50 studies examining this association is the colon cancer, 3rd commonest cancer. Well, it may be natural to ask, “How possibly can physical activity eliminate the threats of colon cancer? Well, this happens because following exercise, the movement of toxins is faster in the colon, allowing less contact time for cancer causing substances with the inner lining of the bowels.

Let us note the relationship between breast cancer and physical fitness. Breast cancer is one of the most common types of cancer among women. Seeing the commonality of breast cancer among women, it becomes increasingly important for women to stay physically fit and exercise on a daily basis.  This is because increased physical activity, even though started later in life, reduces breast cancer incidence by 20 %.

Having noted that, it may be natural to ask, “What do we mean when we say people must exercise adequately? Can we quantify it? Certainly! The Centre for Disease Control and prevention (CDC) recommends that adults “engage in moderate-intensity physical activity for at least 30 minutes on five or more days of the week.” Besides that, it is recommended that one must practise 30 minutes of vigorous exercise 5 days in a week or 45 minutes of not very vigorous exercise 5 days a week.

Thus, all of the above facts clearly help us in establishing a direct link between physical fitness and reducing the threats of various types of cancer, including but not limited to prostate cancer, breast cancer etc. So stay healthy, stay fit, stay away from cancer!

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