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Physical activity may reduce cancer risk!

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Physical activity may reduce cancer risk!

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A recent study suggests that people who do physical activity in the morning, i.e. between 8.00 and 10.00am, are less likely to develop cancer than those who play sport later in the day.

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Previous experiments have shown that exercise can reduce the risk of various types of cancer. Scientists have shown that physical activity is linked to a person's diurnal rhythm. According to a 2019 study, daytime exercise can further help to improve the diurnal rhythm and reduce the negative effects of disrupted sleep patterns. The negative effects include various types of diseases, including cancer. The expression diurnal rhythm refers to the biological processes affecting the sleep cycle.

The authors of a recent study hypothesised that the timing of physical activity may have a significant impact on the likelihood of developing cancer. They analysed data from almost 3,000 people, of which they looked specifically at 781 women with breast cancer and 504 men diagnosed with prostate cancer. The researchers also focused on the study participants' responses regarding their physical activity.

Approximately 7 per cent of the women with breast cancer and 9 per cent of the control group did most of their exercise in the early morning. For men with prostate cancer, the proportion exercising in the morning was about 12.7 per cent, with 14 per cent of the control group.

Theresults of the analysis suggest that physical activity between 8am and 10am has the strongest effect on reducing the risk of breast and prostate cancer.

The researchers developed the hypothesis that the probability of developing breast cancer is potentially 25 per cent lower if physical activity is done in the morning. The statistical confidence of this estimate ranges from a 52 per cent to a 15 per cent increase in risk.

The researchers suggest that any beneficial effect of early exercise on breast cancer risk may be related to oestrogen, whose production is most active around 7am.

Similar findings have emerged for prostate cancer. Men who exercised early in the morning are 27 per cent less likely to develop the disease. The range is from 56 per cent to 20 per cent.

The authors of the experiment stress that the above study has limitations and the results are not confirmed. Further analyses are needed.

- These results, if confirmed, could improve current recommendations for physical activity in cancer prevention. It is a fact that anyone can reduce the risk of cancer simply by being a moderately physically active person, exercising for at least 150 minutes per week - emphasises Dr Manolis Kogevinas, coordinator of the study.