Connecting the Dots
The 2004 Copenhagen Male Study effectively established the connection between physical and activity and cancer prevention, according to the article "More Evidence That Exercise Prevents Cancer." Using information collected from 5,000 men over a 23-year period, the study attributed moderate physical activity to a boost in the immune system, which in turn promotes cancer prevention.
Intestinal and Colon Cancers
Most experts, including Dr. Inge Haunstrup Clemmenson from Copenhagen's Cancer Foundation, further theorize that exercise accelerates the movement of materials through the digestive system and colon. As a result, there is insufficient time for cancerous agents to linger and to grow malignant.
Breast Cancer
Cancer loves fat cells, although the exact reason for this reaction is unclear, according to Dr. Anne McTiernan from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. Dr. McTiernan theorizes that hormone levels that tend to be higher amongst obese women increase their chances for developing breast cancer. Following this logic, exercise can reduce the number of fat cells in the body and therefore reduce the risk for breast cancer.
Other Cancer-Fighting Benefits of Exercise
In an editorial that appeared in the British Medical Journal, epidemiologists David Batty and Inger Thune support the notion that exercise has a role in cancer prevention. They noted that exercise's positive impact on heart and lung capacity, energy levels, hormone levels, antioxidant defense and even DNA repair all work toward cancer prevention.
