Study Calls Doing Intense Daily Activities For 4 Minutes Can Reduce Cancer Risk

Illustration (Rdne Stock Project/Pexels)

JAKARTA - Regular physical activity has proven to be able to reduce the risk of several diseases, such as heart and cancer. Even recently, a study stated that busy doing intense daily physical activity for four minutes every day helps reduce the risk of cancer.

Recent studies conducted by researchers from the University of Sydney in Australia showed that strong intermittent lifestyle (VILPA) physical activity could reduce the risk of cancer by up to 32 percent, driven by Medical Daily, Tuesday, August 1.

VILPA refers to the short activity of heavy movements carried out as part of everyday life. Which includes intense homework or walks.

"The findings from this large study show that VILPA 3 to 4 minutes per day can be attributed to a reduced risk of cancer. Thus, VILPA can be a promising alternative to cancer prevention in individuals who cannot or are not motivated to exercise in their spare time," the researchers wrote in the study, published in the Jama Oncology Journal.

The research team evaluated daily activities of around 22.000 people who did not exercise regularly. Each person is given a device that can be used with the aim that researchers can monitor their activities.

The team then followed up on their health record of up to seven years and found 2,356 new cancer cases during that period. Participants who completed the VILPA for four to five minutes had a lower risk of cancer than those who did not do severe activity at all.

"We know the majority of middle-aged individuals don't exercise regularly that increases the risk of cancer. But just through the emergence of wearable technologies such as activity trackers, we can see the huge impact of daily physical activity," said lead author Emmanuel Stamatakis.

"Improving the intensity of daily tasks of only four to five minutes a day has an extraordinary effect related to reducing the risk of cancer by 18 percent to 32 percent for cancer types related to physical activity," explains Stamatakis.

VILPA helps cardio and breathing fitness, reduce inflammation, and increase insulin sensitivity. Researchers believe these factors may play a role in reducing cancer risk.

We need to further investigate this connection through strong trials. But it looks like VILPA may be a promising easy and free recommendation in reducing the risk of cancer. In people who think that regular exercise is difficult to do or not attractive, "added Stamatakis.

Let's have a time to move for a while. Just set aside just four to five minutes, it can make your body healthy and reduce the risk of cancer.