Exercise and cancer
Anything that gets your body moving, from exercise to chores to active travel, helps to lower your risk of cancer and many other diseases.
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What is physical activity?
Physical activity is any activity where you are moving your body. You could be walking or cycling to work or school, doing household tasks, doing an active job, walking your dog or playing sport. Whatever gets you moving, it all counts.
Exercise is a type of physical activity that is planned and structured, for example, running, jogging, walking or swimming to get fitter, or going to a gym or playing a competitive sport.
What’s the link between physical activity and cancer?
We have strong evidence that being active reduces the risk of three cancers:
- Bowel cancer (colon cancer only)
- Breast cancer
- Womb cancer (endometrium)
There’s strong evidence that moderate-intensity physical activity (such as brisk walking) as well as vigorous physical activity (including running, fast cycling and aerobics) decreases the risk of colon, post-menopausal breast cancer and womb cancer.
There is also strong evidence that vigorous physically active lowers your risk of pre-menopausal breast cancer.
There’s also strong evidence that aerobic physical activity, including walking, can help you keep a healthy weight. Living with overweight or obesity increases your risk of at least 13 different cancers, including common cancers such as breast, bowel and prostate cancer.
Our Cancer Prevention Recommendation
- To help prevent cancer, be physically active as part of everyday life – walk more and sit less
Whatever your age or health, being active is important for almost every part of your body. It can help to:
- Reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
- Maintain a healthy weight.
- Make you feel good and give you more day-to-day energy.
- Improve mood and overall wellbeing.
- Manage stress, anxiety and depression.
- Improve sleep.
- Support your immune system.
- Strengthen muscles and bones, and improving fitness, flexibility and mobility.
What’s the science behind physical activity and cancer?
Scientists are still investigating how physical activity reduces cancer risk, but studies show that regular activity can:
- Help maintain healthy hormone levels.
- Improve insulin sensitivity, meaning your body uses insulin more effectively to regulate your blood sugar.
- Reduce inflammation in the body.
- Help food move through the digestive system more quickly.
More on physical activity
Around 1 in 3 adults are not doing enough physical activity in the UK and globally. Find out more about how much physical activity you should be doing and practical ways to get more active in your everyday life
Preventing cancer. Saving lives
While society continues to search for a cure, our prevention and survival work helps people to live longer, healthier lives – free from the devastating effects of cancer.