Category: Exercise

Categories : Exercise General InterestTags :

Walking 11 Minutes a Day Could Prevent 1 in 10 Early Deaths

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One in ten early deaths could be prevented if everyone managed at least half the recommended level of physical activity, say a team led by researchers at the University of Cambridge.

In a study published today in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, the researchers say that 11 minutes a day (75 minutes a week) of moderate-intensity physical activity – such as a brisk walk – would be sufficient to lower the risk of diseases such as heart disease, stroke and a number of cancers.

Cardiovascular diseases – such as heart disease and stroke – are the leading cause of death globally, responsible for 17.9 million deaths per year in 2019, while cancers were responsible for 9.6 million deaths in 2017. Physical activity – particularly when it is moderate-intensity – is known to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer, and the NHS recommends that adults do at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity activity a week.

To explore the amount of physical activity necessary to have a beneficial impact on several chronic diseases and premature death, researchers from the Medical Research Council (MRC) Epidemiology Unit at the University of Cambridge carried out a systematic review and meta-analysis, pooling and analysing cohort data from all of the published evidence. This approach allowed them to bring together studies that on their own did not provide sufficient evidence and sometimes disagreed with each other to provide more robust conclusions.

In total, they looked at results reported in 196 peer-reviewed articles, covering more than 30 million participants from 94 large study cohorts, to produce the largest analysis to date of the association between physical activity levels and risk of heart disease, cancer, and early death.

The researchers found that, outside of work-related physical activity, two out of three people reported activity levels below 150 min per week of moderate-intensity activity and fewer than one in ten managed more than 300 min per week.

Broadly speaking, they found that beyond 150 min per week of moderate-intensity activity, the additional benefits in terms of reduced risk of disease or early death were marginal. But even half this amount came with significant benefits: accumulating 75 min per week of moderate-intensity activity brought with it a 23% lower risk of early death.

Dr Soren Brage from the MRC Epidemiology Unit said: “If you are someone who finds the idea of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity a week a bit daunting, then our findings should be good news. Doing some physical activity is better than doing none. This is also a good starting position – if you find that 75 minutes a week is manageable, then you could try stepping it up gradually to the full recommended amount.”

Seventy-five minutes per week of moderate activity was also enough to reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular disease by 17% and cancer by 7%. For some specific cancers, the reduction in risk was greater – head and neck, myeloid leukaemia, myeloma, and gastric cardia cancers were between 14 and 26% lower risk. For other cancers, such as lung, liver, endometrial, colon, and breast cancer, a 3–11% lower risk was observed.

Professor James Woodcock from the MRC Epidemiology Unit said: “We know that physical activity, such as walking or cycling, is good for you, especially if you feel it raises your heart rate. But what we’ve found is there are substantial benefits to heart health and reducing your risk of cancer even if you can only manage 10 minutes every day.”

The researchers calculated that if everyone in the studies had done the equivalent of at least 150 min per week of moderate-intensity activity, around one in six (16%) early deaths would be prevented. One in nine (11%) cases of cardiovascular disease and one in 20 (5%) cases of cancer would be prevented.

However, even if everyone managed at least 75 min per week of moderate-intensity physical activity, around one in ten (10%) early deaths would be prevented. One in twenty (5%) cases of cardiovascular disease and nearly one in thirty (3%) cases of cancer would be prevented.

Source: Cambridge University

Categories : ExerciseTags :

Fat Metabolism from Exercise Depends on Time of Day

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Tired woman after exercise
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Exercise at the right time of the day may increase fat metabolism, at least according to the results of a mouse study. Published in the journal PNAS, research shows that mice that did exercise in an early active phase, which corresponds to morning exercise in humans, increased their metabolism more than mice that did exercise at a time usually spent resting.

Physical activity at different times of the day can affect the body in different ways since the biological processes depend on the circadian rhythms of the cells. To ascertain the effect of exercise timing on the burning of fat, researchers at Karolinska Institutet and the University of Copenhagen studied the adipose tissue of mice after a session of high-intensity exercise performed at two points of the daily cycle, an early active phase and early rest phase (corresponding to a late morning and late evening session, respectively, in humans). The researchers studied various markers for fat metabolism and analysed which genes were active in adipose tissue after exercise.

Independent of food intake

The researchers found that physical activity at an early active phase increased the expression of genes involved in the breakdown of adipose tissue, heat production and mitochondria in the adipose tissue, indicating a higher metabolic rate. These effects were observed only in mice that exercised in the early active phase and were independent of food intake.

“Our results suggest that late morning exercise could be more effective than late evening exercise in terms of boosting the metabolism and the burning of fat, and if this is the case, they could prove of value to people who are overweight,” says Professor Juleen R. Zierath at Karolinska Institutet.

Improving the health benefits of exercise

Mice and humans share many basic physiological functions, and mice are a well-established model for human physiology and metabolism. However, there are also important differences, such as the fact that mice are nocturnal.

“The right timing seems to be important to the body’s energy balance and to improving the health benefits of exercise, but more studies are needed to draw any reliable conclusions about the relevance of our findings to humans,” says Professor Zierath.

Source: Karolinska Institutet

Categories : Ageing ExerciseTags :

In Older Women, Physical Activity Reduces Risk of Dementia

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Senior women were less likely to develop mild cognitive impairment or dementia if they did more daily walking and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, according to a new study published in of Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association.

The University of California San Diego-led team reported that among women aged 65 or older, each extra 31 minutes per day of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity was linked to a 21% lower risk of developing mild cognitive impairment or dementia. Risk was also reduced by 33% with each extra 1865 daily steps.

“Given that the onset of dementia begins 20 years or more before symptoms show, the early intervention for delaying or preventing cognitive decline and dementia among older adults is essential,” said senior author Andrea LaCroix, PhD, MPH, UC San Diego professor.

Dementias are a debilitating neurological condition that can cause loss of memory, the ability to think, problem solve or reason. Mild cognitive impairment is an early stage of memory loss or thinking problems that is not as severe as dementias.

More women live with and are at higher risk of developing dementia than men.

“Physical activity has been identified as one of the three most promising ways to reduce risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Prevention is important because once dementia is diagnosed, it is very difficult to slow or reverse. There is no cure,” said LaCroix.

However, because few large studies have examined device measures of movement and sitting in relation to mild cognitive impairment and dementia, much of the published research on the associations of physical activity and sedentary behavior with cognitive decline and dementia is based on self-reported measures, said first author, Steven Nguyen, Ph.D., M.P.H., postdoctoral scholar at the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health.

For this study, the researchers sampled data from 1,277 women as part of two Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) ancillary studies – the WHI Memory Study (WHIMS) and the Objective Physical Activity and Cardiovascular Health (OPACH) study. The women wore research-grade accelerometers and went about their daily activities for up to seven days to obtain accurate measures of physical activity and sitting.

The activity trackers showed the women averaged 3,216 steps, 276 minutes in light physical activities, 45.5 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and 10.5 hours of sitting per day. Examples of light physical activity could include housework, gardening or walking. Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity could include brisk walking.

The study findings also showed that higher amounts of sitting and prolonged sitting were not associated with higher risk of mild cognitive impairment or dementia.

Together, this information has clinical and public health importance as there is little published information on the amount and intensity of physical activity needed for a lower dementia risk, said Nguyen.

“Older adults can be encouraged to increase movement of at least moderate intensity and take more steps each day for a lower risk of mild cognitive impairment and dementia,” said Nguyen.

“The findings for steps per day are particularly noteworthy because steps are recorded by a variety of wearable devices increasingly worn by individuals and could be readily adopted.”

The authors said further research is needed among large diverse populations that include men.

Source: University of California – San Diego

Categories : Addiction ExerciseTags :

Running away from Life’s Stresses: The Phenomenon of Exercise Addiction

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Recreational running offers a lot of physical and mental health benefits – but some people can develop exercise dependence, a form of addiction to physical activity which can cause health issues. Shockingly, signs of exercise dependence are common even in recreational runners. A study published in Frontiers in Psychology investigated whether the concept of escapism can help us understand the relationship between running, well-being, and exercise dependence.

“Escapism is an everyday phenomenon among humans, but little is known regarding its motivational underpinnings, how it affects experiences, and the psychological outcomes from it,” said Dr Frode Stenseng of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, lead author of the paper.

Running to explore or to evade?

“Escapism is often defined as ‘an activity, a form of entertainment, etc. that helps you avoid or forget unpleasant or boring things.” In other words, many of our everyday activities may be interpreted as escapism,” said Stenseng. “The psychological reward from escapism is reduced self-awareness, less rumination, and a relief from one’s most pressing, or stressing, thoughts and emotions.”

Escapism can restore perspective, or it can act as a distraction from problems that need to be tackled. Escapism which is adaptive, seeking out positive experiences, is referred to as self-expansion. Meanwhile maladaptive escapism, avoiding negative experiences, is called self-suppression. Effectively, running as exploration or as evasion.

“These two forms of escapism are stemming from two different mindsets, to promote a positive mood, or prevent a negative mood,” said Stenseng.

Escapist activities used for self-expansion have more positive effects but also more long-term benefits. Self-suppression, by contrast, tends to suppress positive feelings as well as negative ones and lead to avoidance.

Self-suppression associated with exercise dependence

The team recruited 227 recreational runners, half men and half women, with widely varying running practices. They were asked to fill out questionnaires which investigated three different aspects of escapism and exercise dependence: an escapism scale which measured preference for self-expansion or self-suppression, an exercise dependence scale, and a satisfaction with life scale designed to measure the participants’ subjective well-being.

The scientists found that there was very little overlap between runners who favoured self-expansion and runners who preferred self-suppression modes of escapism. Self-expansion was positively related with well-being, while self-suppression was negatively related to well-being. Self-suppression and self-expansion were both linked to exercise dependence, but self-suppression was much more strongly linked to it. Neither escapism mode was linked to age, gender, or amount of time a person spent running, but both affected the relationship between well-being and exercise dependence. Whether or not a person fulfilled criteria for exercise dependence, a preference for self-expansion would still be linked to a more positive sense of their own well-being.

Although exercise dependence corrodes the potential well-being gains from exercise, it seems that perceiving lower well-being may be both a cause and an outcome of exercise dependency: the dependency might be driven by lower well-being as well as promoting it.

Similarly, experiencing positive self-expansion might be a psychological motive that promotes exercise dependence.

“More studies using longitudinal research designs are necessary to unravel more of the motivational dynamics and outcomes in escapism,” said Stenseng. “But these findings may enlighten people in understanding their own motivation, and be used for therapeutic reasons for individuals striving with a maladaptive engagement in their activity.”

Source: Frontiers

Categories : ExerciseTags :

Fixing Prolonged Sitting: Five Minutes’ Walking every Half Hour

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While evidence suggests that prolonged sitting is hazardous to health, the optimum interval and quantity for exercise breaks has been unclear. Now, exercise physiologists can provide an answer: just five minutes of walking every half hour during periods of prolonged sitting can offset some of the most harmful effects.

The study, led by Keith Diaz, PhD, associate professor of behavioral medicine at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, was published online in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.

Unlike other studies that test one or two activity options, Diaz’s study tested five different exercise ‘snacks’: one minute of walking after every 30 minutes of sitting, one minute after 60 minutes; five minutes every 30; five minutes every 60; and no walking.

“If we hadn’t compared multiple options and varied the frequency and duration of the exercise, we would have only been able to provide people with our best guesses of the optimal routine,” Diaz says.

Each of the 11 adults who participated in the study came to Diaz’s laboratory, where participants sat in an ergonomic chair for eight hours, rising only for their prescribed exercise snack of treadmill walking or a bathroom break. Researchers kept an eye on each participant to ensure they did not over- or under-exercise and periodically measured the participants’ blood pressure and blood sugar (key indicators of cardiovascular health). Participants were allowed to work on a laptop, read, and use their phones during the sessions and were provided standardized meals.

The optimal amount of movement, the researchers found, was five minutes of walking every 30 minutes. This was the only amount that significantly lowered both blood sugar and blood pressure. In addition, this walking regimen had a dramatic effect on how the participants responded to large meals, reducing blood sugar spikes by 58% compared with sitting all day.

Taking a walking break every 30 minutes for one minute also provided modest benefits for blood sugar levels throughout the day, while walking every 60 minutes (either for one minute or five minutes) provided no benefit.

All amounts of walking significantly reduced blood pressure by 4 to 5 mmHg compared with sitting all day. “This is a sizeable decrease, comparable to the reduction you would expect from exercising daily for six months,” says Diaz.

The researchers also periodically measured participants’ levels of mood, fatigue, and cognitive performance during the testing. All walking regimens, except walking one minute every hour, led to significant decreases in fatigue and significant improvements in mood. None of the walking regimens influenced cognition.

“The effects on mood and fatigue are important,” Diaz says. “People tend to repeat behaviors that make them feel good and that are enjoyable.”

The Columbia researchers are currently testing 25 different doses of walking on health outcomes and testing a wider variety of people: Participants in the current study were in their 40s, 50s, and 60s, and most did not have diabetes or high blood pressure.

“What we know now is that for optimal health, you need to move regularly at work, in addition to a daily exercise routine,” says Diaz. “While that may sound impractical, our findings show that even small amounts of walking spread through the work day can significantly lower your risk of heart disease and other chronic illnesses.”

Source: Columbia University Irving Medical Center

Categories : Ageing ExerciseTags :

How to Stop Losing Exercise Recovery Capacity as We Age

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Old man jogging
Photo by Barbra Olsen on Pexels

Although exercise is well-known to protect against many ageing-related diseases, it is not known the beneficial effects of exercise diminish with age. Now, in a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers investigated how a mitochondrial mechanism improves physical fitness by exercise training and identified one anti-ageing intervention that delayed the declines that occur with ageing in the model organism. These findings may lead to new strategies for promoting muscle function during ageing.

“Exercise has been widely employed to improve quality of life and to protect against degenerative diseases, and in humans, a long-term exercise regimen reduces overall mortality,” said co-corresponding author T. Keith Blackwell, MD, PhD, a senior investigator at Joslin. “Our data identify an essential mediator of exercise responsiveness and an entry point for interventions to maintain muscle function during ageing.”

That essential mediator is the cycle of fragmentation and repair of the mitochondria. Disruption of mitochondrial dynamics the cycle of repairing dysfunctional mitochondria and restoring the connectivity among the energy-producing organelles has been linked to the development and progression of chronic, age-related diseases, such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

“As we perceive that our muscles undergo a pattern of fatigue and restoration after an exercise session, they are undergoing this mitochondrial dynamic cycle,” said Blackwell. “In this process, muscles manage the aftermath of the metabolic demand of exercise and restore their functional capability.”

Blackwell and colleagues investigated the role of mitochondrial dynamics during exercise in the model organism C. elegans, a simple, well-studied microscopic worm species frequently used in metabolic and aging research.

Recording wild type C. elegans worms as they swam or crawled, the investigators observed a typical age-related decline in physical fitness over the animals’ 15 days of adulthood. The scientists also showed a significant and progressive shift toward fragmented and/or disorganised mitochondria in the ageing animals. For example, they observed in young worms on day 1 of adulthood, a single bout of exercise induced fatigue after one hour. The 60-minute session also caused an increase in mitochondrial fragmentation in the animals’ muscle cells, but a period of 24 hours was sufficient to restore both performance and mitochondrial function.

In older (day 5 and day 10) worms, the animals’ performance did not return to baseline within 24 hours. Likewise, the older animals’ mitochondria underwent a cycle of fragmentation and repair, but the network reorganization that occurred was reduced compared to that of the younger animals.

“We determined that a single exercise session induces a cycle of fatigue and physical fitness recovery that is paralleled by a cycle of the mitochondrial network rebuilding,” said first author Juliane Cruz Campos, a postdoctoral fellow at Joslin Diabetes Center. “Ageing dampened the extent to which this occurred and induced a parallel decline in physical fitness. That suggested that mitochondrial dynamics might be important for maintaining physical fitness and possibly for physical fitness to be enhanced by a bout of exercise.”

In a second set of experiments, the scientists allowed wild type worms to swim for one hour per day for 10 consecutive days, starting at the onset of adulthood. As in humans, the long-term training programme significantly improved the animals’ middle-aged fitness at day 10, and mitigated the impairment of mitochondrial dynamics typically seen during ageing.

Finally, the researchers tested known, lifespan-extending interventions for their ability to improve exercise capacity during ageing. Worms with increased AMPK – a “guardian” of metabolism and mitochondrial homeostasis – exhibited improved physical fitness. They also demonstrated maintenance of exercise performance during ageing – but not enhancement. Worms engineered to lack AMPK exhibited reduced physical fitness during ageing as well as impairment of the recovery cycle. They also did not receive the age-delaying benefits of exercise over the course of the lifespan.

“An important goal of the ageing field is to identify interventions that not only extend lifespan but also enhance health and quality of life,” said Blackwell, who is also a professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School. “In ageing humans, a decline in muscle function and exercise tolerance is a major concern that leads to substantial morbidity. Our data point towards potentially fruitful intervention points for forestalling this decline – most likely along with other aspects of ageing. It will be of great interest to determine how mitochondrial network plasticity influences physical fitness along with longevity and ageing-associated diseases in humans.”

Source: Joslin Diabetes Center

Categories : Exercise Mental HealthTags :

Pop Culture Highlights How Exercise Can Improve Mental Health

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The workplace should take note

Photo by Ketut Subiyanto on Pexels

A quarter of employees in South Africa have been diagnosed with depression, with the country’s economic contributors aged 25 to 44 being most affected and taking more than 18 days off work as a result, according to a recent study conducted by the South African Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG). “While treatment or talking to someone is advised when dealing with mental health issues, the importance of exercise and healthy living is taking centre stage across pop culture channels,” says Sarah Rice, Chief People Officer at Skynamo.

This was illustrated in the recently released documentary produced by Jonah Hill on Netflix called ‘Stutz’. While highlighting the power of talk therapy, Hill’s therapist, Phil Stutz, outlines various tools that he has developed to help people manage depression, including his ‘life force’ model.

“This is a three levelled pyramid focussing on aspects that drive us forward,” shares Rice, who refers to the film where Stutz says that your life force is the only thing that’s capable of guiding you when you’re lost. “The bottom level of the pyramid is your relationship with your physical body, the second is your relationship with other people and the top level is your relationship with yourself.”

“While we are the only ones who are responsible for our relationship with ourselves, considering the fact that we spend a large amount of time in the office, companies should think about offering activities to improve employees’ wellbeing such as forming a running club or introducing yoga classes. These activities should be built into the company calendar so that it gives people permission to do them and not feel like they’re taking away from work time,” explains Rice.

Not only does this assist with the exercise aspect but also gives colleagues the opportunity to form a real connection and bond with each other, she says. “Additionally, it shows that the business is really keen on providing employees with a work-life balance – something which is trumping salary as a priority for most professionals.”

“This will improve the company’s wellbeing too as it will result in increased employee productivity, reduced absenteeism, higher quality work, and even an R83.40 return for every R20 the business invests in the physical and mental health of employees, not to mention a 14% increase in profitability,” points out Rice.

She notes that, luckily, international companies like Google, Accenture, Microsoft and Nike are recognising that physical health is part of mental health. “A number of South African companies such as Absa, Discovery, Alexander Forbes, Unilever and South African Breweries are tapping into this as well.”

Victoria Henry, Head of Group Marketing at Alphawave, a specialised technology investment group with 16 companies in its portfolio, of which Skynamo is a part, echoes this by saying, “Mental health has definitely moved up the agenda in the workplace. It’s good to see more and more companies taking this seriously. Happy and healthy employees are better employees. Supporting employee mental health can increase engagement and performance, so it’s important that companies are investing in this.”

To encourage corporates – as well as individuals – to get active and connected to each other, Skynamo, in partnership with Alphawave, will be sponsoring the third annual Skynamo CROSS CHALLENGE – South Africa’s biggest off-road triathlon. A crucial component of the event is the Skynamo Corporate Challenge where teams will get to cycle, run and swim for the chance to win prizes, bragging rights and a trophy to showcase in the office – not to mention a team building experience full of exhilarating adventure and healthy competition.

Jacques de Villiers, co-founder of event organising company Scuttle adds that being outdoors and exercising greatly enhances mental health, especially since this reduces employee screen time. “Funnily enough, 70% of employees say that they would exercise more if they spent less time at their computers.”

The Skynamo CROSS CHALLENGE will be taking place on Saturday, 25 February 2023 in Grabouw with races for all ages and fitness levels. The full race comprises a 1000m swim, 22km mountain bike ride and 7,2km trail run, while the sprint race is approximately half the distance. There are also race options available for kids.

In the lead up to the Skynamo CROSS CHALLENGE, teams can test their fitness levels and group dynamics at the Lomond and Franschhoek Cross Triathlons taking place in December 2022 and January 2023 respectively.

Rice concludes by saying, “To help employees’ mental health in 2023, businesses should be raising awareness around and encouraging healthy living. Employers need to see employees as whole people, not just as ‘work people’, and must support them in living their best lives.”

To register, or for more information, go to www.scuttle.co.za/scuttle-events/crosschallenge. Online entries close on 20 February 2023 and no entries will be taken at the event.

Categories : Cancer ExerciseTags :

Aerobic Exercise Creates a Metabolic Shield against Metastatic Cancer

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Old man jogging
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A new study at Tel Aviv University found that aerobic exercise can reduce the risk of metastatic cancer by 72%. According to the researchers, intensity aerobic exercise increases the glucose consumption of internal organs, thereby reducing the availability of energy to the tumour.  The paper was published in Cancer Research.

Previous studies have demonstrated that physical exercise reduces the risk for some types of cancer by up to 35%. This is similar to the positive impact of exercise on other conditions, such as heart disease and diabetes.

In this study, Prof Levy and Dr Gepner added new insight, showing that high-intensity aerobic exercise, which derives its energy from sugar, can reduce the risk of metastatic cancer by as much as 72%. “If the general message to the public so far has been ‘be active, be healthy’,” they say, “now we can explain how aerobic activity can maximise the prevention of the most aggressive and metastatic types of cancer.”

The study combined lab models trained under a strict exercise regimen, with data from healthy human volunteers examined before and after running. The human data, obtained from an epidemiological study that monitored 3000 individuals for about 20 years, indicated 72% less metastatic cancer in participants who reported regular aerobic activity at high intensity, compared to those who did not engage in physical exercise.

The animal model exhibited a similar outcome, enabling the researchers to identify its underlying mechanism. They found that aerobic activity significantly reduced the development of metastatic tumours in the lab models’ lymph nodes, lungs, and liver. The researchers hypothesised that in both humans and model animals, this favourable outcome is related to the enhanced rate of glucose consumption induced by exercise.

‘Exercise changes the whole body’

“Our study is the first to investigate the impact of exercise on the internal organs in which metastases usually develop, like the lungs, liver, and lymph nodes,” explains Prof Levy.

“Examining the cells of these organs, we found a rise in the number of glucose receptors during high-intensity aerobic activity – increasing glucose intake and turning the organs into effective energy-consumption machines, very much like the muscles. We assume that this happens because the organs must compete for sugar resources with the muscles, known to burn large quantities of glucose during physical exercise. Consequently, if cancer develops, the fierce competition over glucose reduces the availability of energy that is critical to metastasis.”

“Moreover,” she offers, “when a person exercises regularly, this condition becomes permanent: the tissues of internal organs change and become similar to muscle tissue. We all know that sports and physical exercise are good for our health. Our study, examining the internal organs, discovered that exercise changes the whole body, so that the cancer cannot spread, and the primary tumour also shrinks in size.”  

“Our results indicate that unlike fat-burning exercise, which is relatively moderate, it is a high-intensity aerobic activity that helps in cancer prevention,” adds Dr Gepner. “If the optimal intensity range for burning fat is 65–70% of the maximum pulse rate, sugar burning requires 80–85% – even if only for brief intervals.”

“For example: a one-minute sprint followed by walking, then another sprint. In the past, such intervals were mostly typical of athletes’ training regimens, but today we also see them in other exercise routines, such as heart and lung rehabilitation. Our results suggest that healthy individuals should also include high-intensity components in their fitness programs. We believe that future studies will enable personalized medicine for preventing specific cancers, with physicians reviewing family histories to recommend the right kind of physical activity. It must be emphasized that physical exercise, with its unique metabolic and physiological effects, exhibits a higher level of cancer prevention than any medication or medical intervention to date.”  

Source: Tel Aviv University

Categories : Cancer ExerciseTags :

Exercise Improves Quality of Life in Breast Cancer Radiotherapy

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Tired woman after exercise
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Radiotherapy is an important part of breast cancer treatment but can lead to cancer-related fatigue and negatively impact patients’ health-related quality of life. Fortunately, latest research by has revealed exercise may make radiotherapy more tolerable for patients, offering benefits for their emotional, physical and social wellbeing.

Researchers at Edith Cowan University (ECU) included 89 women in the study, with 43 completing a home-based 12-week program, consisting of a weekly exercise regime of one to two resistance training sessions and an accumulated 30–40 minutes of aerobic exercise. The 46 controls did not participate in the exercise regime.

The results, published in Breast Cancer, showed that patients who exercised recovered from cancer-related fatigue quicker during and after radiotherapy compared to the control group and saw a significant increase in health-related quality of life post radiotherapy with no reported adverse effects.

Study supervisor Professor Rob Newton said this showed home-based resistance and aerobic exercise during radiotherapy is safe, feasible and effective in accelerating recovery from cancer-related fatigue and improving health-related quality of life.

“A home-based protocol might be preferable for patients, as it is low-cost, does not require travel or in-person supervision and can be performed at a time and location of the patient’s choosing,” he said.

“These benefits may provide substantial comfort to patients.”

Important changes observed

Australia’s current national guidelines for cancer patients recommend moderately intense aerobic exercise for 30 minutes per day, five days a week, or vigorously intense aerobic exercise for 20 minutes a day for three days a week.

They also call for 8–10 strength-training exercises with 8–12 repetitions per exercise, for two-to-three days per week.

However, study lead Dr Georgios Mavropalias said benefits were still observed with less exercise.

“The amount of exercise was aimed to increase progressively, with the ultimate target of participants meeting the national guideline for recommended exercise levels,” he said.

“However, the exercise programmes were relative to the participants’ fitness capacity, and we found even much smaller dosages of exercise than those recommended in the national guidelines can have significant effects on cancer-related fatigue and health-related quality of living during and after radiotherapy.”

The study also found participants good adherence to exercise programmes once they started. The exercise group reported significant improvements in mild, moderate and vigorous physical activity up to 12 months after the supervised exercise programme finished.

“The exercise programme in this study seems to have induced changes in the participants’ behaviour around physical activity,” Dr Mavropalias said.

“Thus, apart from the direct beneficial effects on reduction in cancer-related fatigue and improving health-related quality of life during radiotherapy, home-based exercise protocols might result in changes in the physical activity of participants that persist well after the end of the program.”

Source: Edith Cowan University

Categories : Cancer ExerciseTags :

Trial to Investigate Exercise with Neodjuvant Chemotherapy for Breast Cancer

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Woman receiving mammogram
Source: National Cancer Institute

The prognosis for breast cancer has improved, allowing more and more women to be cured with a combination of surgery, radiotherapy and medical treatment. A new trial led by Karolinska Institutet will investigate whether combining neoadjuvant chemotherapy with exercise will improve the outcomes of breast cancer patients.

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) is increasingly used in breast cancer. The main benefit of NACT is its ability to downstage large tumours with a view to treatment by breast-conserving surgery, although there is a non-significant increase in the local recurrence rate. The best proof of NACT efficacy is pathological complete response (pCR), ie the absence of invasive tumour on post-NACT on surgical histopathology.

“While it is known that physical exercise can help patients to better tolerate often harsh cancer treatments, it is an emerging area of research to understand if and how exercise exerts anti-tumour effects and improves oncological outcomes”, explained Jana de Boniface, principal investigator of the trial and associate professor in the Breast Surgery Group, Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery.

The Neo-ACT trial opened for recruitment in September 2022, and it is estimated that inclusion may be completed in December 2025.

Source: Karolinska Institutet