Research: Exercise 6 Times More To Cut Disease Risk

Exercise 6 Times More To Cut Disease Risk

Doing six times more exercise than recommended greatly cuts the risk of developing five killer diseases.

World Health Organisation guidelines suggest avoiding sedentary behaviour and undertake a minimum of physical activity equivalent to 20 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity a day for better health. But doing six times more, two hours a day, could offer even more benefits, a study reveals.

Key points from this study: 

The difference in risk from least active to most active:

• Can cut diabetes risk by 19 per cent;

• Can cut colon cancer risk by 28 per cent;

• Can reduce heart disease risk by 25 per cent;

• Can reduce breast cancer by 14 per cent;

• Can reduce stroke risk by 26 per cent. 

The University of Washington in the USA reviewed 174 studies since 1980 to make the findings.

In conclusion...

““People who achieve total physical activity levels several times higher than the current recommended minimum level have a significant reduction in the risk of the five diseases studied. More studies with detailed quantification of total physical activity will help to find more precise relative risk estimates for different levels of activity.””

Exercise is protective and more can be better when it comes to decreasing the burden of chronic lifestyle disease.

• How much physical activity do we need to stay healthy?

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Research:
Kyu HH, et al. “Physical activity and risk of breast cancer, colon cancer, diabetes, ischemic heart disease, and ischemic stroke events: systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study”, BMJ, (2013)