Physical activity and cancer prevention

WCRF UK recommends being physically active for at least 30 minutes every day.

Most of us know that regular physical activity can help keep our hearts healthy – and the good news is that it can also reduce our risk of cancer.

As well as helping us to avoid weight gain, research shows that physical activity itself can help to prevent cancer.

If you’re not used to doing much activity, start by working towards 30 minutes of moderate activity each day – remember that anything is better than nothing!

You can build up slowly until you reach your target. The more you do each day, the more you are helping to reduce your cancer risk.

Avoiding weight gain

Being moderately active for 30 minutes a day is a great starting point, but research shows that, to avoid weight gain, doing more activity is beneficial. For maximum health benefits, scientists recommend that we aim for 60 minutes or more of moderate activity every day, or 30 minutes or more of vigorous activity.

What is moderate activity?

Moderate activity is anything that gets your heart beating a bit faster and makes you breathe more deeply – like brisk walking. There are plenty of easy ways to build this type of activity into your daily routine, so you don’t need to set aside half an hour each day to exercise. Shorter bouts of activity are just as beneficial as it’s the total time that’s important.

What is vigorous activity?

Vigorous activity means raising our heart rates so that we warm up, start to sweat and feel out of breath. If you want to make vigorous activity a regular part of your life, it’s important to find something that is fun and accessible such as jogging or team games such as football and netball.

If you are looking for motivation to become more physically active, then why not sign up for one of WCRF UK’s running events? They are a great way to become more active at the same time as raising vital funds for cancer prevention.

Physical activity and cancer prevention – the evidence

The WCRF Expert Report found convincing evidence that physical activity protects against bowel cancer. It probably also protects against breast cancer (in postmenopausal women) and endometrial (womb) cancer.

Studies show that regular activity can help to keep our hormone levels healthy, which is important as having high levels of some hormones can increase our cancer risk.

Physical activity may also strengthen our immune system, help keep our digestive system healthy and allow us to consume more food – and more cancer-protective nutrients – without gaining weight.

Find out about our other Recommendations for Cancer Prevention

How can you help WCRF UK?