These are major cancers you can ward off with body fitness

A cancers cancer diagnosis is devastating but some cancers may also be preventable. In fact, an estimated half of all cancer deaths are avoidable by practicing healthy lifestyles.

In my article I wrote just a few months ago in this column titled “want to cut your cancer risk? Then reduce that extra body fat”, I tried to shed some light on how being overweight can trigger some cancers as well as their complications.

One of the most potent cancer fighting weapons is exercise. While the benefits of a regular fitness programme are many including keeping the pounds off, improving blood pressure and mental outlook, exercise can also halt the onset of some diseases. Several studies have shown that physical activity is linked with decreased risk of some cancers particularly colon cancer.

Body fitness matters! And it’s never too late to begin a fitness programme. Here are major cancers that scientific researches have shown can be stalled by exercise:

Endometrial cancer. Women who exercise for 150 minutes a week or more had a 34 percent of stalling endometrial cancer (a cancer that begins in the lining of the uterus) than those who are not active. According to recent data by WHO, women with a body mass index (BMI) below 25-73 percent have a reduced risk compared with inactive women whose BMI is above 25. People with a BMI of over 25 are considered overweight.

Prostate cancer. Though several studies have been inconclusive, some findings suggest a link between physical activity and a reduced risk of aggressive prostate cancer. Men who have regular recreational exercise show a lower risk of developing advanced prostate cancer or dying from the disease, compared to those who with no physical activity.

Personalising an exercise routine is therefore important. Pick an activity that you enjoy doing, and then focus on intensity. It is not so much what you are doing but how intense you are doing it. You can do some vigorous gardening, and you are out there working really hard, digging. Alternatively you could be going out running so slowly you never even get your heart rate up.

Breast cancer. Women who have a family history of breast cancer, may successfully reduce their risk by doing at least 20 minutes of moderate or vigorous physical activity at least five times a week along with maintaining a healthy life style in other ways. Post menopausal women who give up their sedentary ways and engage in a moderate-to-vigorous-intensity exercise programme may show changes in hormone and protein levels consistent with a reduced risk of breast cancer. Some studies even suggest that starting an exercise programme during adolescence may delay the onset of breast cancer for women who may carry the mutation in their BRCA genes but it doesn’t prevent the disease from developing.

Ovarian cancer. Some evidence suggests a link between exercise and a reduced risk of epithelial ovarian cancer. Women who engage in high-intensity activity most often, tend to have a reduced risk of invasive ovarian cancer compared to women who report no regular physical activity.