Short bursts of daily activities that make you huff and puff — such as playing high-energy games with kids — may reduce cancer risk, research suggests.
According to the study, a total of just four and a half minutes of vigorous activity — done in bursts of about a minute each — during daily tasks could reduce overall cancer risk by 18 percent, and reduce the risk of some cancers related to physical activity. activity by up to 32 percent.
Other activities may include intense housework, carrying heavy groceries at the grocery store, or bursts of power walking.
Lead author Professor Emmanuel Stamatakis, from the Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney, Australia, said: ‘We know that the majority of middle-aged people do not exercise regularly, which puts them at increased risk of cancer.
‘But it is only with the advent of wearable technology such as activity trackers that we are able to look at the impact of short bursts of occasional physical activity as part of everyday life.
Activities can include intense housework, carrying heavy groceries at the grocery store, or bursts of power walking
The graph above shows the number of breast cancers in women as a percentage per 100,000 people compared to the death rate represented by the red squares. While death rates have fallen, cases are still rising
“It’s quite remarkable to see that increasing the intensity of daily tasks for just four to five minutes a day, done in short bursts of about a minute each, has been linked to an overall reduction in cancer risk by up to 18 percent,” and up to 32 percent for cancers associated with physical activity.”
Cancers associated with physical activity are those in which not exercising increases the risk of developing the disease.
The cancers associated with physical activity include liver, lung, kidney, gastric cardia (a type of stomach cancer), endometrial, myeloid leukemia, myeloma, colorectal, head and neck carcinoma, bladder, breast, and esophageal (esophageal) cancer .
The study, published in Jama Oncology, used data from wearable devices to track the daily activity of more than 22,000 people who don’t exercise.
Researchers then tracked the group’s clinical health records for nearly seven years to check for cancer.
They found that just four to five minutes of vigorous intermittent physical activity (Vilpa) was associated with a significantly lower risk of cancer compared to those who did not take Vilpa.
Vilpa was coined by researchers at the University of Sydney’s Charles Perkins Center to describe the very short bursts of activity – about a minute each – that we enjoy doing every day.
Prof Stamatakis said: ‘Vilpa is a bit like applying the principles of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) to your daily life.’
He added that adults who do not exercise have an increased risk of developing certain cancers, such as breast, endometrial or colon cancer.
But until recently, experts were unable to measure the impact of less structured forms of vigorous physical activity.
In the study group of 22,398 people with an average age of 62 years who did not exercise in their spare time, the researchers found 2,356 new cancer cases (1,084 in exercise-related cancers) during an average follow-up of 6.7 years .
They found that a minimum of about 3.5 minutes daily Vilpa was associated with up to an 18% reduction in cancer incidence, compared with no Vilpa, while 4.5 minutes daily Vilpa was associated with up to a 32% reduction in cancer risk . linked to physical activity.
Using data from the UK Biobank Accelerometry Sub Study, the researchers only included people who reported they did not exercise in their spare time and did not take regular recreational walks.