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Cancer Survivors Who Exercise Have Better Life Expectancy Than Those Who Do Not

Jan 28, 2014 by TacticularCancer.com

A study conducted by researchers from the Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine found that cancer survivors who used up more than 12,600 calories per week through exercise had better life expectancy than those who didn’t.

They had looked at the data of 1,021 men who had been part of the Harvard’s Alumni Health Study. That study had surveyed men who went to the university from 1916 to 1950. The average age of the men was 71.

And the research team discovered that men who used more than 12,600 calories every week through exercise were a whopping 48% less likely to die of any cause as compared to those who hardly exercised and only used up less than 2,100 calories each week. These findings were adjusted for age, early parental death, smoking and weight.

Previous research in this area had also shown that the most physically active cancer survivors had a 38% lower chance of dying from cancer and 48% lower chance of dying from cardiovascular ailments after their cancer treatments.

Such studies show that regular exercise not only improves the life expectancy of healthy people, it also boosts the lifespan of those who had developed and beaten cancer.

“Physical activity should be actively promoted to such individuals to enhance longevity,” said Dr Kathlee Wolin, a co-author of the study, which was published in the Journal of Physical Activity & Health.