Physical exercise has been known to provide many health benefits such as improved cardiovascular health and overall physical function, reduced blood pressure, and bone and muscle development (Mazzilli, Matthews, Salerno, & Moore, 2019). Have you heard that muscle-strengthening activities such as weight lifting and resistance training can lower your risk of cancer?
A national cohort study was recently used to explore the relationship between weight training and the risk of the ten most common cancer types. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH)-American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) Diet and Health Study, the ten most common types of cancer include colon, kidney, bladder, breast, lung, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, pancreatic, prostate, rectum, and melanoma. The purpose of this study was to determine the cancers associated with weight training and if there were any correlations between sex, age, and BMI. It was determined that participants who engaged in weight lifting had a significantly lower risk of colon cancer and nearly significantly lower risk for kidney cancer than those who do not engage in weight lifting (Mazzilli, Matthews, Salerno, & Moore, 2019). The researchers in this study believe that the benefits of physical activity could reflect a decreased risk of cancer through several biological mechanisms. They proposed that strength training promotes increased muscle gain and strength, which is important for maintaining glucose homeostasis (Mazzilli, Matthews, Salerno, & Moore, 2019). If a person has trouble maintaining glucose, this could be correlated with an increased risk of colon cancer. Additionally, strength training is a major activator of a regulator for cell growth and metabolism called mTOR (Mazzilli, Matthews, Salerno, & Moore, 2019). In cancer patients, mTOR is often not regulated properly and can be associated with cancer progression.
This particular study claims to have found a correlation between weight training and risk for different types of cancer. However, the researchers acknowledged that their study was the first prospective study to truly assess this correlation and that they relied on self-reported data from their participants. Therefore, can it be assumed that if you weight train, you can actually decrease your risk of colon or kidney cancer? Ultimately, we have the autonomy to choose whether we want to exercise, but if there is a little bit of evidence it might decrease your risk of cancer… would you increase how often you engage in muscle-strengthening activities?
Mazzilli, K. M., Matthews, C. E., Salerno, E. A., & Moore, S. C. (2019). Weight Training and Risk of 10 Common Types of Cancer. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 51(9), 1845-1851. doi:10.1249/mss.0000000000001987
I read into the study and it just described the weight training as "muscle-strengthening activities". I have learned over the years that there are a variety of "types" of weight lifting in order to achieve a range of goals. I am curious what goals the researchers had in mind whether that be muscle tone or mass development, explosiveness to trigger more Type II fibers, or simply shooting for strength gains. I know that the mechanisms are very similar, but body composition and, therefore, hormone/growth factors are different in differing lifting strategies. These differing levels of molecules in the body I'm sure play a direct role in the outcomes of their research, as I doubt just stacking on 20 pound of muscle is the answer given that everyone's physiology is slightly different.
ReplyDeleteA 10 year study is impressive, though, and I'm sure a lot of this data stands as far as decreasing risks for cancers. I'd also be curious to see how weight training compares more directly to aerobic cardiovascular training as a method of preventing cancers. This is really interesting research to me as a washed up athlete and I'd like to continue to educate myself and others on the outcomes of such studies.
I found this study to be extremely interesting and I do think that more research needs to be done to better understand this relationship. I found a study that found that acute high intensity exercise such as HIIT promotes an increase in anti-inflammatory cytokines as well as reducing the number of colon cancer cells in vitro. The study did acknowledge that the reduction in cells may not be enough to actually influence tumors as a whole, but the cytokine alteration may be of importance.
ReplyDeleteIt seems like the concept of exercise reducing cancer risk is relatively new and has more unknowns than knowns. Hopefully in the future this relationship will be understood more and maybe this relationship could help promote people to exercise more frequently.
Devin, J. L., Hill, M. M., Mourtzakis, M., Quadrilatero, J, Jenkins, D. G., & Skinner, T. L. (2019). Acute high intensity interval exercise reduces colon cancer cell growth. The Journal of Physiology(597.8) 2177-2184. http://doi.org/10.1113/JP277648
An association between weight lifting and decreased risk of cancer to me seems, at least on the surface, to be expected. This would be due to my understanding that increased physical activity naturally lowers the chances of cancer, albeit I have always heard of cardio as being the main beneficial exercise. However, there is a secondary correlation that the paper does not take into account that I think could be the cause for weight lifters, and that is diet. A proper diet has long been associated with decreased risk of many types of cancer, and often those individuals who participate in either cardio or weight lifting exercises also take their diet seriously so as to maximize their gains.
ReplyDeleteAs a side note, I would like to point out that the paper’s use of BMI as any kind of metric for lifters is not entirely appropriate, as BMI is completely ineffective at measuring a healthy body weight in any individuals who are physically active. As a lifter, it is incredibly easy to fall under the “obese” category, despite having a relatively low body fat percentage and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
Bail, J., Meneses, K., & Demark-Wahnefried, W. (2016). Nutritional Status and Diet in Cancer Prevention. Seminars in Oncology Nursing, 32(3), 206–214. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soncn.2016.05.004
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