Overview
- The analysis published in BMC Medicine used UK Biobank data on 59,218 people with an average age of 61.7 and an eight-year follow-up that recorded 2,385 cancer cases.
- Researchers estimated that replacing 15 minutes of sleep or sitting with 15 minutes of movement was associated with about a 2% lower cancer risk.
- The study found that swapping 30 minutes of any movement for 30 minutes of sedentary behaviour raised overall cancer risk by about 8% and swapping it for sleep raised risk by about 7%.
- Using theoretical substitution models, the authors reported that losing just two to three minutes a day of vigorous activity was associated with an increase in cancer risk of up to roughly 15%, with vigorous activity defined as running, fast cycling, sport, or rushing up stairs.
- Authors and commentators say the results reinforce NHS guidance to maintain activity with age while noting the study is observational and subject to measurement limits and potential confounding rather than proving direct causation.