STAYING FIT WHEN YOUNG COULD REDUCE RISK FOR 9 CANCERS

People with high cardiorespiratory fitness when young have a lower risk of developing nine types of cancer, including head and neck, lung, kidney, bowel, liver, oesophagus, stomach, rectum and pancreas.

- SHYLA JOVITHA ABRAHAM

Cardiorespiratory fitness indicates a person's ability to do aerobic exercises, such as running, cycling and swimming for long periods.

For the study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, researchers analysed Swedish data up to the end of 2019, that included background information, medical diagnoses and deaths for more than a million conscripts who started their military service between 1968 and 2005. They were between 16 years and 25 years when they started their service. As many as 3,65,874 had a low level of cardiorespiratory fitness; 519,652 had a moderate level and 340,952 had a high level.

During an average follow up of 33 years, 84,117 people (7 per cent) developed cancer in at least one site. Higher cardiorespiratory fitness was linearly associated with a lower risk of cancer, specifically a 42 per cent lower risk of lung cancer; 40 per cent had lower risk of liver cancer; 39 percent a lower risk of oesophageal cancer; 21 per cent a lower risk of stomach cancer; 20 per cent a lower risk of kidney cancer; 19 per cent a lower risk of head and neck cancer; 18 per cent a lower risk of bowel cancer; 12 per cent a lower risk of pancreatic cancer; and 5 per cent a lower risk of rectal cancer.

Oddly, higher cardiorespiratory fitness was also associated with a 7 per cent increased risk of prostate cancer and a 31 per cent increased risk of skin cancer. Prostate cancer screening and exposure to sunlight might account for these findings, researchers suggested.

DAILY ASPIRIN CAN PREVENT RECURRENT HEART ATTACK

PEOPLE WHO HAVE HAD a heart attack are advised to take low-dose aspirin daily to prevent a second heart attack or stroke, but most patients fail to do so long term.