Cancer survivors who exercise live longer

Date: Jan-24-2014Earlier diagnosis and medical improvements means many cancer survivors are living

longer. Now, a new study of over 1,000 male cancer survivors suggests being physically active

may add even more years to their lives.

The study investigators, including researchers from Harvard Medical School and the Loyola

University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, report their findings in the January issue of

the Journal of Physical Activity & Health.

They analyzed data on 1,021 male cancer survivors who were part of the Harvard Alumni Health

Study, whose participants entered Harvard as undergraduates between 1916 and 1950.

The average age of the men was 71 when they filled in questionnaires about their physical

activities in 1988, about 6 years after their cancer diagnosis. Men diagnosed with non-melanoma

skin cancer were not included.

The questionnaires asked the men about not only sports or recreational activity, but

also general activity, such as walking and stair climbing. This physical activity data was then

updated in 1993.

During a follow-up that lasted until 2008, the researchers counted 777 deaths among the

participants, including 335 from cancer and 190 from cardiovascular disease.

To analyze the data, they grouped the men according to how many calories per week they

burned during physical activity and looked at the link between these groups and rates of

death.

Men who exercised the most were least likely to die during follow-up

After adjusting for age, body mass index (BMI), smoking, diet and early parental death, the

researchers found the men who burned the most calories per week through exercise (over 12,600

calories), were 48% less likely to die from any cause over the follow-up period than men who

burned the least (under 2,100 calories per week).

As a rough guide, a man who weighs 176 pounds (80 kg) burns around 4,200 calories a week by

walking briskly for about 30 minutes a day on 5 days of the week.

The researchers also found that higher levels of physical activity were linked to lower

rates of death from cancer and cardiovascular disease.

They conclude:

"Engaging in physical activity after cancer diagnosis is associated with better survival

among men."

They suggest physical activity should be "actively promoted" to extend the lives of cancer

survivors.

Grants from the National Institutes of Health helped finance the study.

Meanwhile, another group of researchers also recently reported in The Journal of Cancer

Survivorship that older

breast cancer survivors benefit from exercise programs.

Written by Catharine Paddock PhD




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