According to an analysis of 87,000 persons' medical records, regular exercise at two designated times each day appears to reduce the risk of colorectal cancer.
The health benefits of exercise are well-known.
What about colon cancer, the third most frequent kind of cancer? Will it provide any protection against it as well? A recent study by experts in Canada, Germany, and France discovered that a certain pattern of activity throughout the day can lower the risk of colorectal cancer.
Exercising between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. seemed to lower the risk of colon and rectal cancer, according to the study.
“Being active at certain times of the day - for example, by moving during travel - is connected with reduced risk," says Michael Stein, co-author of the study and an epidemiologist and preventive medicine expert at the University of Regensburg.
A link was discovered by the researchers.
The study's sample size was 86,252 people, ranging in age from 42 to 79. The subjects were split into four groups, each of which was given a unique schedule for physical activity. Those who were active at both times of the day had an 11% reduced risk of colorectal cancer, according to the study.
It is preferable to do something twice. The link between the two may be due, as Michael Stein suggests, to the fact that regular exercise, whether in the morning or the evening, improves insulin resistance and other risk factors for colon cancer.
In addition, he says that training twice a day is superior to once since it triggers the body's healthful processes twice. According to the researchers, not knowing the individuals' specific forms of physical activity or exercise is the study's largest weakness. All they did was track the subjects' levels of physical exercise.
Michael Stein said that the study's findings should primarily serve to remind readers that exercise is beneficial to health regardless of the timing of its occurrence. Crucially, these findings can be utilized to advocate for additional studies investigating the link between physical activity and the likelihood of developing colon cancer.
An estimated number of new instances of colorectal cancer, also known as bowel cancer, are identified each year in the US. In light of the most recent findings:
In the United States, the American Cancer Society predicts that in 2024, there will be around 152,810 new cases. An estimated 44,000 people in the United Kingdom get colon cancer diagnoses annually.
Scientific journal BMC Medicine published the study.