Bursts of activity that make you huff and puff ‘linked to reduced cancer risk’

Sign up to our free Living Well email for advice on living a happier, healthier and longer life Live your life healthier and happier with our free weekly Living Well newsletter Live your life healthier and happier with our free weekly Living Well newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. According to the study, a total of just four-and-a-half minutes of vigorous activity – done in bursts of around one minute each – during daily tasks could reduce the overall risk of cancer by 18 per cent, and the risk of some cancers linked to physical activity by up to 32 per cent. Lead author Professor Emmanuel Stamatakis, of the Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney, Australia, said: “We know the majority of middle-aged people don’t regularly exercise, which puts them at increased cancer risk, but it’s only through the advent of wearable technology like activity trackers that we are able to look at the impact of short bursts of incidental physical activity done as part of daily living. “It’s quite remarkable to see that upping the intensity of daily tasks for as little as four to five minutes a day, done in short bursts of around one minute each, is linked to an overall reduction in cancer risk by up to 18 per cent, and up to 32 per cent for cancer types linked to physical activity.” Cancer types linked to physical activity are those where not exercising increases the risk of developing the disease. They found that as few as four to five minutes of vigorous intermittent lifestyle physical activity was associated with a substantially lower cancer risk compared with those who undertook no Vilpa.