There are three main cancers plaguing our society. Prostate cancer is the highest in men; breast cancer is the highest in women; and lung cancer is the highest in both sexes. There has been a positive association between exercise and the prevention of many cancers as well as other chronic illnesses. Prostate cancer is the leading cause of cancer morbidity in men and is second only to lung cancer as a cause of death in American men (Torti, D). According to Dorthea Torti, thirteen cohort studies were conducted between 1988 and 2002 and nine of those studies showed a decrease in prostate cancer risk with high activity levels. Cohort studies involve following a selected group of men over an extended period of years to track their physical activity and exercise and their health outcomes at the end of the study. “The average reduction rate was between 10% and 30% (Torti, D).” It can be speculated that the reason exercise has a positive effect on the prevention of prostate cancer is because it can regulate hormone levels and enhance the immune system. Prostate cancer is a hormone-sensitive cancer which is why exercise has been shown to be beneficial. There are modifiable risk factors of prostate cancer that can benefit from exercise and physical activities such as obesity and diet. Modifiable meaning factors that we have control over. “A study of 7570 men in the US Aerobics Center Longitudinal Study during 1989 to 2001 reported that a significant decrease in relative risk was found in men who expended greater than or equal to 3000 calories per day as oppose to less than or equal to 1000 calories per day.
Similar effects of exercise have been seen in the prevention of breast cancer as well. “Physical, whole body exercise, primarily aerobic is increasingly being promoted as a therapeutic intervention to breast cancer (Kirshbaum, M.).” As stated by Joanna Kruk, “Vigorous physical activity at ages 14 through 20 and 21 through 34 years lowered breast cancer risk by at least 35% in premenopausal women and by at least 51% in postmenopausal women”. Suspected reasons for the benefit of exercise include “reduction of abdominal fat mass, changes in endogenous sex steroid hormone levels, other metabolic hormones and growth factors, modulation of inflammation and the immune system, and a direct effect on the tumor (Kruk, J.).” The intensity of the physical activity or exercise is also a factor in the effectiveness of prevention. “Women who were physically active during adolescence may exhibit a lower risk of breast cancer due to a lower lifetime exposure to sex hormones (Kruk, J.).”
Recent evidence has also shown that the risk of lung cancer is likely to be decreased by physical activity. It has been stated that “The degree to which smoking has been adjusted in analyses is an important consideration for epidemiological studies on lung cancer (Miles, J.).” Exercise was said to have a 20% to 60% reduction in risk for non-job-related work and job-related work (Miles, J.).” A Harvard University Alumni Study completed in 1999 found that “highly active men, whether they were non-smokers, current smokers smoking less than 20 cigarettes per day, or current smokers smoking more than 20 cigarettes per day had a lower risk of lung cancer than those who were less active (Miles, J.).” They also reported that sporting activities were seen to be more beneficial to men whereas cycling was seen to be more beneficial to women. As with the other two types of cancers mentioned, more vigorous activities were necessary to be beneficial.

Works Cited

Miles, L. L. (2007). Physical activity and the prevention of cancer: a review of recent findings. Nutrition Bulletin, 32(3), 250-282. doi:10.1111/j.1467-3010.2007.00653.x

Kruk, J. (2010). Intensity and timing in life of recreational physical activity in relation to breast cancer risk among pre- and postmenopausal women. Journal of Sports Science & Medicine, 9(2), 311-319. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Kirshbaum, M. (2007). A review of the benefits of whole body exercise during and after treatment for breast cancer. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 16(1), 104-121. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2702.2006.01638.x

Torti, D. C., & Matheson, G. O. (2004). Exercise and Prostate Cancer. Sports Medicine, 34(6), 363-369. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.