STAND DON’T SIT: Too much sitting raises cancer risk
June 25, 2020 • 1 min read
-- More bad news for couch potatoes
Too much sitting can raise your risk for cancer, according to a new study published in JAMA Oncology.
In better news, the same study also found that replacing sedentary time with light, moderate, or vigorous physical activity reduced cancer mortality risk.
The research echoes findings in earlier studies linking inactivity with cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, and overall mortality.
Prior research has shown that more than 50% of cancer deaths are preventable through healthy lifestyle choices, such as healthy diet, exercise and not smoking.
However, when it came to sitting and cancer, past studies relied on self-reported behaviour, not objective data.
The new study asked 8,000 people to wear a tracking device to gauge the impact of exercise.
Results showed that people who replaced 30 minutes of sitting with light-intensity activity, such as walking, reduced their risk of cancer by 8%.
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