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High levels of fitness may lower cancer risk in middle-aged men

Doctors hope research raises awareness of the importance of fitness as a kind of preventative medicine.

By Brooks Hays
Middle-aged men with high levels of fitness were less likely to be diagnosed with bowel and lung cancer. Photo by U.S. Navy/Aaron Burden
Middle-aged men with high levels of fitness were less likely to be diagnosed with bowel and lung cancer. Photo by U.S. Navy/Aaron Burden

BURLINGTON, Vt., March 27 (UPI) -- For middle-aged men, high levels of fitness are associated with a lower risk of lung cancer and colorectal cancer. Higher fitness levels also predicted an improved rate of survival for men diagnosed with certain types of cancer.

The new research, carried out by doctors in Vermont and Texas, tracked the health and fitness levels of more than 14,000 men between the ages of 46 and 50. The participants' cardiovascular stamina was tested by having the men run on a treadmill to the point of exhaustion. Fitness levels were tested roughly every 6.5 years, between 1971 and 2009.

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Along the way, cancer diagnoses and survival rates were tracked. Analysis showed that men with high levels of fitness were 55 percent less likely to be diagnosed with lung cancer than those who failed to walk or run a mile in less than 12 minutes.

High fitness levels were also associated with a 44 percent lower chance of being diagnosed with colorectal cancer. Fitness levels had no effect on prostate cancer rates.

"This preventative message starts earlier than you think, way before you develop cancer," study leader Dr. Susan Lakoski, a cardiologist at the University of Vermont, told the BBC. "Your health behaviors and your fitness earlier in life has an impact 20 or 30 years later - and that's what people don't realize."

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Plenty of research has shown cardiovascular fitness is linked with improved heart health, and several studies have linked healthy fitness levels with lower risk of bowel cancer. But the latest research is one of the first to pinpoint a diminished risk of lung cancer.

"Being regularly physically active is great for your overall health and, as this study demonstrates, has benefits far beyond the health of your heart," said Tom Stansfeld, a spokesperson for nonprofit group Cancer Research UK.

The study, published this week in the journal JAMA Oncology, also showed that a man diagnosed with cancer after the age of 65 was 32 percent less likely to die if he had demonstrated high fitness levels in his late 40s.

"It's pretty remarkable that a fitness estimate 10-15 years before your actual cancer diagnosis can predict how long you're going to live after you develop cancer," Lakoski told TIME.

Lakoski hopes the research raises awareness of the importance of fitness as a kind of preventative medicine.

"We talk about personalized medicine a lot now in medicine when we think about genetics, but we don't think about it in terms of healthy behaviors," she said. "[Objective fitness measures are] a very robust marker of survival, and we're not using it enough in practice."

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