Exercise is important

Exercise is important for your health at any age. If Americans meet five hours per week of moderate-intensity recommended physical activity guidelines, then more than 46,000 cancer cases annually in the United States could be prevented.

Published in the journal, Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise® (MSSE®) which is the official journal of the American College of Sports Medicine and is published monthly, the data noted that three percent of all cancer cases in adults in the US aged 30 years and older during 2013 to 2016 was due to physical inactivity. Also, the proportion was higher in women compared to men.

The maximum number of cases were in the South, such as Kentucky, West Virginia, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Mississippi, whereas the lowest proportions were found in the Mountain region and northern states, such as Utah, Montana, Wyoming, Washington, and Wisconsin.

The data highlights specific cancer sites, including 16.9 percent of stomach cancers, 11.9 percent of endometrial cancers, 11.0 percent of kidney cancers, 9.3 percent of colon cancers, 8.1 percent of oesophageal cancers, 6.5 percent of female breast cancers, and 3.9 percent of urinary bladder cancers.

State-wise, the proportion of cancer cases attributable to physical inactivity ranged from 2.3 percent in Utah to 3.7 percent in Kentucky.

The research notes that these findings underscore the need to encourage physical activity as a means of cancer prevention and implement individual- and community-level interventions that address the various behavioural and socioeconomic barriers to recreational physical activity. Understanding and reducing the behavioural and socioeconomic barriers to physical activity is essential for optimizing intervention strategies targeting at-risk groups across the country.

The data highlights the importance of physical activity.

It talks about how there are many barriers to recreational physical activity, which include, lack of time due to long working hours in low-wage jobs, the cost of gym memberships or personal equipment.

The lack of access to a safe environment also contributes to the lack of physical activity.