Latest research of a group of different individuals believes that staying physically healthy reduces the chance of getting prone to cancer.
It was seen by Henry Ford Health System in Detroit, MI, researchers from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, MD, that the most physically healthy people are very less prone to being a sufferer of lung and colorectal cancer. Research also showed that those who were physically fit before diagnosis had better chances of survival than those who develop lung or colorectal cancer.
The data collected was of 49,143 health system patients who went through exercise stress test of fitness between 1991 and 2009. The breakup of the system included 46% female, 64% white, 29% black, and 1% Hispanic. It was concluded by the researchers that it was the first time where there were many females present and also a huge population who were not white.
How is fitness important for reducing cancer risks?
American Lung Association has posted online about a report which shows that about half a million people in USA were given a notification for diagnoses of lung cancer at some point of time.
2016 figures portray that deaths have fallen in 2016 by 6.5% since they were at peak in 2005. Sadly, lung cancer is still one of the main causes of cancer deaths in USA. Estimated figure of deaths from lung cancer are 154,050 in USA and is 25% of all cancer deaths.
Also, it is mentioned by American Cancer Society (ACS) that colorectal cancer is the third most common cause of cancer deaths. It is also estimated that 145,600 people in USA will be diagnosed with colorectal cancer in 2019 and this disease will be accountable for 51,020 deaths.
Cardiorespiratory fitness is a good way to evaluate an individual’s ‘habitual physical activity’. It is also a great way to measure the diagnoses and predict one’s health.
It is easy to increase cardiorespiratory fitness by consistent exercise. There is proof that consistent exercise ensures that there is less of a risk of men and women being prone to deaths caused by cardiovascular and other cancers.
Though, it is to be noted that Dr. Handy Marshall and her colleagues mentioned that there is less knowledge about the relation between cardiorespiratory fitness and the risks and chances of survival for lung and colorectal cancer.
What are the chances of survival?
The results when carried out showed that those who were diagnosed with colorectal or lung cancer, and those who have high levels of cardiorespiratory fitness have lesser risks of being prone to death.
It was then concluded by the researchers that as mentioned above, the ‘largest study performed till date’ those with higher levels of cardiorespiratory fitness indicated a lower risk of incident lung or colorectal cancer in men and women and an even lower risk of deaths for those diagnosed with lung or colorectal cancer.
The information gathered through research doesn’t prove completely whether becoming fit and healthy could actually make individuals less prone to diseases and overall increase survival for the diagnosed. Further investigation should be done to prove it to make it clearer for everyone.
In the end, Dr. Handy Marshall also states that doctors calculate the cardiorespiratory fitness for all patients as it is part of clinical assessments.
