Even Minimal Exercise Will Lower Your Risk of 13 Types of Cancer

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From Esquire

Scientists have already asked the question: Does regular exercise lower the risk for certain cancers? It is proven that with breast, colon, and lung cancers, the answer is yes. But new research says the effects of exercise go farther.

According to The New York Times, researchers found that exercise significantly reduces the risk for a total of 13 types of cancer. They found that by tapping into an existing wealth of data collected on more than 1.44 million men and women. It is, to say the least, extensive.

Even for overweight people, exercising moderately (or vigorously), even for short periods of time, lowered the risk of tumors. Besides breast, lung, and colon cancers, the risk was lower for stomach, blood, liver, esophagus, endometrium, kidney, bone marrow, head and neck, rectum, and bladder cancers.

And the more active, the better. Those who exercised the most were 20 percent less likely to get cancer than those who exercised the least.

As The Times points out, the study is purely observational and based on participants’ memories. Still, even John Oliver wouldn’t shrug off 1.44 million data points.