"Men with big muscles cut cancer risk by 40 per cent"
The findings, by an international team of researchers, suggest
muscular strength is as important as staying slim and eating healthily
when it comes to protecting the body against deadly tumours.
The
scientists who came up with the findings are recommending men weight
train at least twice a week, exercising muscle groups in both the upper
and lower body.
In recent years, experts have recommended a healthy diet and
lifestyle - including regular aerobic exercise such as jogging or
cycling to reduce the risks of the disease.
But the latest study,
published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and
Prevention, suggests it may be just as important to build up muscle
strength.
A team of experts, led by scientists from Sweden's
Karolinska Institute, tracked the lifestyles of 8,677 men aged between
20 and 82 for more than two decades.
Each volunteer had regular medical check ups that included tests of their muscular strength.
Between 1980 and 2003, researchers monitored how many developed cancer and subsequently died from it.
The
results showed men who regularly worked out with weights and had the
highest muscle strength were between 30 and 40 per cent less likely to
lose their life to a deadly tumour.
Even among volunteers who had
excess tummy fat or a high body mass index, regular weight training
seemed to have a protective effect.
In a report on their findings the researchers stressed keeping a healthy weight was still crucial for avoiding premature death.
But they added: "In the light of these results, it is equally important t to maintain healthy muscular strength levels.
"It's
possible to reduce cancer mortality rates in men by promoting
resistance training involving the major muscle groups at least two days
a week."
A spokesman for Cancer Research UK said resistance
exercise might have some benefit but it was more important to regularly
do some cardiac exercise.
Health information officer Jessica
Harris said: "There's no need to become a body builder. Just 30 minutes
of moderate exercise five times a week that leaves you warm and
slightly out of breath can have a positive effect."
Article located at:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/5371468/Men-with-big-muscles-cut-cancer-risk-by-40-per-cent.html