Sitting too much could mean worse outcomes for cancer survivors – Consumer Health News

TUESDAY, Jan. 11, 2022 (HealthDay News) – Beating cancer is a huge achievement, but the way survivors live their lives afterward also influences their longevity. A new study shows that those who sit too much and are not physically active are much more likely to die prematurely from cancer or any other cause than those who are more active.

Data on cancer survivors who participated in the United States’ National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2007 to 2014 found that inactive survivors who reported sitting more than eight hours a day were most at risk of dying.

“Cancer survivors who have not encountered the Physical activity guidelines for Americans [150 minutes per week of moderate-to-vigorous intensity leisure-time physical activity] and sitting for more than eight hours a day more than quintupled the risk of death from all causes – cancerous and non-cancerous, ”said lead researcher Lin Yang. She is a scientific researcher in the Department of Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention Research. at Cancer Care Alberta in Calgary, Canada.

Yang noted that these results cannot prove that inactivity causes earlier deaths in cancer survivors, only that there is an association.

“There is a need for future investigations into the causal relationships between sedentary behavior, physical activity and survival after cancer, as well as the biological mechanisms that operate these relationships, “she added.

The link was particularly troubling as researchers found that up to a third of cancer survivors did not exercise and sat for more than six hours a day. Only about a third got the recommended 150 hours of exercise per week, Yang said.

“As we face the reality of a rapidly growing population of cancer survivors, interventions are timely and essential to target behavior change,” she said. “The challenge lies in how to personalize these interventions, given the diverse profiles of cancer survivors. Our study has clinical and policy implications for collectively creating programs that provide cancer survivors with the ability, motivation and opportunity to initiate positive changes to sit less and move more. “

For the study, Yang’s team collected data on more than 1,500 cancer survivors. During up to nine years of follow-up, nearly 300 patients died.

The report was published online on January 6 in JAMA Oncology.

According to Alpa Patel, senior vice president of population science at the American Cancer Society, “This report continues to reinforce the important message of being physically active and trying to limit your time spent sedentary, especially during your leisure time. .

Technology has dramatically changed the way people live, and many more people are now more sedentary and less active.

“It’s not just that we’re exercising less, you’re actually seeing more of a shift in what we call the activity of daily living or the light intensity activity,” she said. . “It’s’ I’m sitting down more because I’m not standing to do the dishes or do other things, other chores around my house.”

People should strive for 150 minutes to 300 minutes per week of moderate intensity activity, Patel said. “But what we’re also learning now is that, even if you can do it, there are still harmful effects from sitting too much,” she added.

Cancer survivors don’t often get the message that they should be physically active, Patel said. Part of the reason may be that patients are not motivated or feel good, but it is also because they are not encouraged to be active.

“In the clinical care community what we are seeing is that many clinicians continue to tell patients to conserve their energy for rest, when what we should be telling them is that it is safe. to be physically active and that there are many health benefits of being physically active. “Patel said.” These results confirm that it is better to do something than to do nothing. “

More information

To learn more about cancer survival, visit American Cancer Society.

SOURCES: Lin Yang, PhD, research scientist, Department of Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention Research, Cancer Care Alberta, Alberta Health Services, Calgary, Canada; Alpa Patel, PhD, senior vice president, population science, American Cancer Society; JAMA Oncology, Jan. 6, 2022, online