If older female cancer survivors sit less and move more, they can reduce their chances of death

Sitting less and moving more can decrease the risks of death in older female cancer survivors, a new study reports.

The findings were outlined recently at the American Heart Association’s Epidemiology and Prevention/Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health Scientific Sessions in New Orleans.

 

Dr. Keith Diaz

According to a recent story in the AHA news, the risk of death from cardiovascular disease and other causes for older women with a history of cancer can be dramatically lowered. The piece goes on to quote Dr. Keith Diaz, a professor of behavioral medicine at Columbia University Medical Center in New York as saying that "walking —  at any intensity — matters."

Many adults, says Diaz, who was not involved in the study that combines two studies that followed 2,379 post-menopausal women for about eight years, "now spend the majority of  their day sitting, not engaged in physical activity. And for cancer survivors, this issue is likely even more pronounced due to the physical toll of cancer treatment and recovery."

Sedentary behavior, the AHA News report notes, raises the risk considerably: "Every 102 minutes of sitting time per day was linked to a 30% higher risk of death from cardiovascular disease and a 12% higher risk of death from any cause."

AHA and federal guidelines "recommend adults engage in moderate physical activity for at least 150 minutes each week, or 75 minutes of vigorous activity, or a combination of both."

The story also says that "researchers found that benefits maxed out at 5,000 to 6,000 steps per day and one hour of moderate to vigorous  physical activity a day."

But at least "one hour of moderate to vigorous activity each day, such as  biking or brisk walking, reduced the risk of death from heart disease and stroke by 60%, as well as 40% from any cause."

The women in the study averaged 74 years of age. Half had been diagnosed with breast cancer and the rest had other cancers, including endometrial, lung, colon, and ovarian.

Discussing the study's shortcomings, Dr. Eric Hyde, lead study author and a research analyst at the University of California, San Diego, suggests that "in future studies, physical activity should be measured at several critical time points, such as before cancer diagnosis, during treatment, and after treatment." 

 

More information on cancer in older females can be found in Rollercoaster: How a man can survive his partner's breast cancer, a VitalityPress book that I, Woody Weingarten aimed at male caregivers. My other books are MysteryDates — How to keep the sizzle in your relationship; The Roving I, a compilation of  70 of my newspaper columns; and Grampy and His Fairyzona Playmates, a whimsical fantasy intended for 6- to 10-year-olds that I co-authored with my then 8-year-old granddaughter.