Skip to main content
PMC home page
British Journal of Cancer logoLink to British Journal of Cancer
. 2001 Sep 1;85(9):1311–1316. doi: 10.1054/bjoc.2001.2096

Physical activity and risk of cancer in middle-aged men

S G Wannamethee 1, A G Shaper 1, M Walker 1
PMCID: PMC2375260  PMID: 11720466

Abstract

A prospective study was carried out to examine the relationship between physical activity and incidence of cancers in 7588 men aged 40–59 years with full data on physical activity and without cancer at screening. Physical activity at screening was classified as none/occasional, light, moderate, moderately-vigorous or vigorous. Cancer incidence data were obtained from death certificates, the national Cancer Registration Scheme and self-reporting on follow-up questionnaires of doctor-diagnosed cancer. Cancer (excluding skin cancers) developed in 969 men during mean follow-up of 18.8 years. After adjustment for age, smoking, body mass index, alcohol intake and social class, the risk of total cancers was significantly reduced only in men reporting moderately-vigorous or vigorous activity; no benefit seen at lesser levels. Sporting activity was essential to achieve significant benefit and was associated with a significant dose-response reduction in risk of prostate cancer and upper digestive and stomach cancer. Sporting (vigorous) activity was associated with a significant increase in bladder cancer. No association was seen with colo-rectal cancer. Non-sporting recreational activity showed no association with cancer. Physical activity in middle-aged men is associated with reduced risk of total cancers, prostate cancer, upper digestive and stomach cancer. Moderately-vigorous or vigorous levels involving sporting activities are required to achieve such benefit.   http://www.bjcancer.com © 2001 Cancer Research Campaign

Keywords: physical activity, cancer

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (80.6 KB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Albanes D., Blair A., Taylor P. R. Physical activity and risk of cancer in the NHANES I population. Am J Public Health. 1989 Jun;79(6):744–750. doi: 10.2105/ajph.79.6.744. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Bennett A., Del Tacca M. Proceedings: Prostaglandins in human colonic carcinoma. Gut. 1975 May;16(5):409–409. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Gerhardsson de Verdier M. Physical activity in the prevention and management of cancer. World Rev Nutr Diet. 1997;82:240–249. doi: 10.1159/000059645. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Giovannucci E., Ascherio A., Rimm E. B., Colditz G. A., Stampfer M. J., Willett W. C. Physical activity, obesity, and risk for colon cancer and adenoma in men. Ann Intern Med. 1995 Mar 1;122(5):327–334. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-122-5-199503010-00002. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Giovannucci E., Leitzmann M., Spiegelman D., Rimm E. B., Colditz G. A., Stampfer M. J., Willett W. C. A prospective study of physical activity and prostate cancer in male health professionals. Cancer Res. 1998 Nov 15;58(22):5117–5122. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Hackney A. C., Sinning W. E., Bruot B. C. Reproductive hormonal profiles of endurance-trained and untrained males. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1988 Feb;20(1):60–65. doi: 10.1249/00005768-198802000-00009. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Hartman T. J., Albanes D., Rautalahti M., Tangrea J. A., Virtamo J., Stolzenberg R., Taylor P. R. Physical activity and prostate cancer in the Alpha-Tocopherol, Beta-Carotene (ATBC) Cancer Prevention Study (Finland). Cancer Causes Control. 1998 Jan;9(1):11–18. doi: 10.1023/a:1008889001519. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Kampert J. B., Blair S. N., Barlow C. E., Kohl H. W., 3rd Physical activity, physical fitness, and all-cause and cancer mortality: a prospective study of men and women. Ann Epidemiol. 1996 Sep;6(5):452–457. doi: 10.1016/s1047-2797(96)00059-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Lee I. M., Manson J. E., Ajani U., Paffenbarger R. S., Jr, Hennekens C. H., Buring J. E. Physical activity and risk of colon cancer: the Physicians' Health Study (United States). Cancer Causes Control. 1997 Jul;8(4):568–574. doi: 10.1023/a:1018438228410. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Lee I. M., Paffenbarger R. S., Jr Physical activity and its relation to cancer risk: a prospective study of college alumni. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1994 Jul;26(7):831–837. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Lee I. M., Sesso H. D., Paffenbarger R. S., Jr Physical activity and risk of lung cancer. Int J Epidemiol. 1999 Aug;28(4):620–625. doi: 10.1093/ije/28.4.620. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Liu S., Lee I. M., Linson P., Ajani U., Buring J. E., Hennekens C. H. A prospective study of physical activity and risk of prostate cancer in US physicians. Int J Epidemiol. 2000 Feb;29(1):29–35. doi: 10.1093/ije/29.1.29. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. McTiernan A., Ulrich C., Slate S., Potter J. Physical activity and cancer etiology: associations and mechanisms. Cancer Causes Control. 1998 Oct;9(5):487–509. doi: 10.1023/a:1008853601471. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Moore M. A., Park C. B., Tsuda H. Physical exercise: a pillar for cancer prevention? Eur J Cancer Prev. 1998 Jun;7(3):177–193. doi: 10.1097/00008469-199806000-00002. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Oliveria S. A., Christos P. J. The epidemiology of physical activity and cancer. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1997 Dec 29;833:79–90. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1997.tb48595.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Oliveria S. A., Lee I. M. Is exercise beneficial in the prevention of prostate cancer? Sports Med. 1997 May;23(5):271–278. doi: 10.2165/00007256-199723050-00001. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Paffenbarger R. S., Jr, Hyde R. T., Wing A. L. Physical activity and incidence of cancer in diverse populations: a preliminary report. Am J Clin Nutr. 1987 Jan;45(1 Suppl):312–317. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/45.1.312. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Reddy B. S., Wynder E. L. Metabolic epidemiology of colon cancer. Fecal bile acids and neutral sterols in colon cancer patients and patients with adenomatous polyps. Cancer. 1977 Jun;39(6):2533–2539. doi: 10.1002/1097-0142(197706)39:6<2533::aid-cncr2820390634>3.0.co;2-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Severson R. K., Nomura A. M., Grove J. S., Stemmermann G. N. A prospective analysis of physical activity and cancer. Am J Epidemiol. 1989 Sep;130(3):522–529. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a115366. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Shaper A. G., Pocock S. J., Walker M., Cohen N. M., Wale C. J., Thomson A. G. British Regional Heart Study: cardiovascular risk factors in middle-aged men in 24 towns. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed) 1981 Jul 18;283(6285):179–186. doi: 10.1136/bmj.283.6285.179. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Shaper A. G., Wannamethee G., Walker M. Alcohol and mortality in British men: explaining the U-shaped curve. Lancet. 1988 Dec 3;2(8623):1267–1273. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(88)92890-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Shaper A. G., Wannamethee G., Weatherall R. Physical activity and ischaemic heart disease in middle-aged British men. Br Heart J. 1991 Nov;66(5):384–394. doi: 10.1136/hrt.66.5.384. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Shephard R. J., Shek P. N. Associations between physical activity and susceptibility to cancer: possible mechanisms. Sports Med. 1998 Nov;26(5):293–315. doi: 10.2165/00007256-199826050-00002. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Singh P., Rubin N. Insulinlike growth factors and binding proteins in colon cancer. Gastroenterology. 1993 Oct;105(4):1218–1237. doi: 10.1016/0016-5085(93)90971-e. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Slattery M. L., Potter J., Caan B., Edwards S., Coates A., Ma K. N., Berry T. D. Energy balance and colon cancer--beyond physical activity. Cancer Res. 1997 Jan 1;57(1):75–80. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Taylor H. L., Jacobs D. R., Jr, Schucker B., Knudsen J., Leon A. S., Debacker G. A questionnaire for the assessment of leisure time physical activities. J Chronic Dis. 1978;31(12):741–755. doi: 10.1016/0021-9681(78)90058-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. Thune I., Lund E. Physical activity and risk of colorectal cancer in men and women. Br J Cancer. 1996 May;73(9):1134–1140. doi: 10.1038/bjc.1996.218. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  28. Thune I., Lund E. Physical activity and the risk of prostate and testicular cancer: a cohort study of 53,000 Norwegian men. Cancer Causes Control. 1994 Nov;5(6):549–556. doi: 10.1007/BF01831383. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  29. Thune I., Lund E. The influence of physical activity on lung-cancer risk: A prospective study of 81,516 men and women. Int J Cancer. 1997 Jan 6;70(1):57–62. doi: 10.1002/(sici)1097-0215(19970106)70:1<57::aid-ijc9>3.0.co;2-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  30. Walker M., Shaper A. G., Lennon L., Whincup P. H. Twenty year follow-up of a cohort based in general practices in 24 British towns. J Public Health Med. 2000 Dec;22(4):479–485. doi: 10.1093/pubmed/22.4.479. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  31. Weiderpass E., Gridley G., Nyrén O., Ekbom A., Persson I., Adami H. O. Diabetes mellitus and risk of large bowel cancer. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1997 May 7;89(9):660–661. doi: 10.1093/jnci/89.9.660. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  32. Wilson P. W., Paffenbarger R. S., Jr, Morris J. N., Havlik R. J. Assessment methods for physical activity and physical fitness in population studies: report of a NHLBI workshop. Am Heart J. 1986 Jun;111(6):1177–1192. doi: 10.1016/0002-8703(86)90022-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from British Journal of Cancer are provided here courtesy of Cancer Research UK

RESOURCES