Fitness earlier in life reduces cancer risk when older, study shows

The results suggest that good cardiorespiratory fitness — an individual’s ability to engage in sustained aerobic exercises such as running, cycling, and swimming — was associated with a 42% reduced risk of lung cancer, a 40% reduced risk of liver cancer and a 39% reduced risk of oesophageal cancer. File picture

Being fit earlier in life is associated with a reduced risk, in some cases of up to 42%, of developing nine different types of cancer in later life, according to a large long-term study.

While exercise has been previously linked with a lower risk of certain cancers, long-term and large cohort studies on multiple cancer sites are sparse. The new study, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, drew from data from more than one million male Swedish conscripts between 16 and 25, who were followed for an average of 33 years from 1968 to 2005.