Cancer-prevention benefit of exercise off most people’s radar, study shows

From our Friends at Safety + Health Magazine

St. Louis — Few Americans are aware that lack of exercise can increase their risk for certain types of cancer, according to a recent study from Washington University in St. Louis.

Researchers surveyed nearly 1,200 people, “oversampling socio-demographically disadvantaged groups,” to learn what types of diseases they thought are linked to insufficient exercise. Included in the survey was an open-ended question about what illnesses are caused by low levels of activity.

From 351 randomly selected responses, results showed that only 3.4 percent of respondents were aware that low levels of activity increase the risk of cancer. That is in sharp contrast to participants’ awareness of inactivity’s effects on metabolic (65.8 percent) and cardiovascular (63.5 percent) health. (Continue Reading)