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We
can!
Move More
to Reduce Your Cancer Risk
An initiative of the
American Institute for Cancer Research.
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AICR’s
Recommendations
for Cancer
Prevention
• Be as lean as possible without becoming
underweight
• Be physically active for at least 30 minutes
every day. Limit sedentary habits, like watching
television.
• Avoid sugary drinks. Limit consumption of calorie-
dense foods (particularly processed foods high in
added sugar, or low in fiber, or high in fat)
• Eat more of a variety of vegetables, fruits, whole
grains and beans
• Limit consumption of red meats (such as beef,
pork and lamb) and avoid processed meats
• If consumed at all, limit alcoholic drinks to 2 for
men and 1 for women a day
• Limit consumption of salty foods and foods pro-
cessed with salt (sodium)
• Don’t use supplements to protect against cancer
Special Population Recommendations
• It is best for mothers to breastfeed exclusively
for up to 6 months and then add other liquids
and foods
• After treatment, cancer survivors should follow
the Recommendations for Cancer Prevention
And, always remember—do not smoke or
chew tobacco
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Move More to
Reduce Your
Cancer Risk
hing
Table of Contents
loriegh in
Reduce your cancer risk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Make time for physical activity. . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
whole
What is “physical activity”? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
ef,
Healthy eating + physical activity
= a healthy weight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2 for
pro-
ncer
Get started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Types of activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
How hard should you work? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Need more help? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
About AICR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
ely
s
Healthy Living for Cancer Prevention Series
ow
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Reduce your
cancer risk
This booklet tells you how getting enough physical
activity can lower cancer risk and simple ways you
can become more active every day.
More than 1 in 3 Americans will develop cancer at
some point during their lives.
Scientists estimate that about one-third of the most
common cancers could be prevented if we ate a
healthy diet, got at least 30 minutes of daily physical
activity and maintained a healthy weight. Even more
cancer cases could be prevented by not smoking.
Although there are no guarantees when dealing with
cancer, a growing amount of research links being
more physically active with reduced cancer risk.
It’s never too late: Making healthy changes at any
time in life can reduce your risk. So why wait? Start
today!
Start today!
Why wait? It’s never
too late to make
healthy changes and
lower your cancer risk.
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Make time for
physical activity
We now know that not getting enough physical
activity increases risk for developing cancer and
many other serious diseases, such as heart disease
and diabetes.
Based on AICR’s reviews
of the scientific evidence,
you can begin to reduce
your cancer risk by being
moderately active for at
least 30 minutes each
day. And researchers are
finding that even more
health benefits come from
getting at least 60 minutes
of moderate activity every
day or at least 30 minutes
of daily vigorous activity.
The health benefits are
immediate.
Yet fewer than half
of all U.S. adults get the minimum 30 minutes
recommended per day. And spending long hours
being inactive—watching TV, working on the
computer or doing other seated activities like
driving—can also raise your cancer risk.
This brochure gives you plenty of ideas for moving
more each day.
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What about cancer survivors?
For cancer survivors, physical activity is helpful
for everyday functioning and recovery. However,
it’s best to find an instructor or trainer who
is certified to work with cancer patients and
survivors.
Studies are finding that regular physical activity
helps cancer survivors:
• feel less fatigued
• boost muscle strength
• reduce stress
• possibly help prevent recurrence.
To date, most of the research has focused
on breast cancer survivors, but more studies
are looking at survivors of prostate, colon and
other types of cancer.
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What is “physical
activity”?
Going to a gym isn’t the only way to be physically active. Doing light activities during the day, like walking
to the mailbox, vacuuming the house and raking the
lawn, all count.
“Physical activity” is any movement using skeletal
muscles. Light physical activity includes standing,
walking around an office or home and shopping. Recreation time may involve moderate physical activity,
like a brisk walk, or vigorous physical activity, such as
running. “Exercise” and other forms of physical training are types of recreational physical activity.
Make Time for Break Time
This graphic illustrates how different amounts of
activity influence certain much-studied indicators of
cancer risk. Other factors like eating smart, staying lean
and not smoking also lower cancer risk.
Ann
Mike
Kim
Joe
Types of activity:
6
Moderate / Vigorous
Break
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s
Take Frequent Short
Physical Activity Breaks
Even if you have to sit for long periods of time, you
don’t have to sit still! Try walking down the hall
to speak to an office mate instead of sending an
email. Use hand-held weights to do strengthening exercises during TV commercials. Get up and
stretch in place for a few minutes.
Avoid inactivity
Even if you do spend 30 minutes at the gym or doing
other physical activity, recent research findings show
too much sitting during the rest of the day still poses
a health risk.
This “sedentary” behavior may be associated with an
increased risk of cancer. How? Not burning enough
calories (energy) in the body affects your metabolism
and may increase weight gain.
Daily
Activity
Cancer Risk
HIGHER
LOWER
Break
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Sedentary
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SCIENCE
What are the benefits of physical activity?
AICR’s expert report and its updates found strong
evidence that physical activity plays a direct role in
reducing your risk for:
• colon cancer
• postmenopausal breast cancer
• endometrial cancer
Some cancer-prevention effects include:
Reducing body fat. Extra fat can raise levels of estrogen and other hormones in the blood, increasing risk
for cancer. Fat cells also prompt more production of
proteins that can cause inflammation, another factor
in cancer risk.
Speeding up food transit time in the gut. Faster digestion
reduces the time cells in your gut are exposed to cancercausing substances—possibly lowering cancer risk.
Among the other diseases that become less likely
once you get and stay active are:
• heart disease
• depression
• stroke
• cognitive decline and
dementia
• osteoporosis
•
obesity
• Type 2 diabetes
You can improve your health in a number of ways by
being more physically active to:
• Lower blood pressure
• Increase bone density
• Raise levels of “good” cholesterol and lower levels
of “bad” cholesterol
• Control blood sugar
• Improve mood
• Maintain functional health and improve balance
for day-to-day activities
• Increase brain function
• Ease arthritis symptoms
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We
can!
Healthy eating +
physical activity
= a healthy
weight
Physical activity alone can help reduce your cancer
risk directly. Combining healthy eating with physical
activity to maintain a weight that is right for you can
also lower your cancer risk.
How? If the amount of calories you burn through
physical activity during the day is balanced with the
amount of calories you eat and drink, then you can
maintain a healthy weight.
According to the federal Centers for Disease Control,
on average, males consume 2,475 calories daily and
females consume 1,833 calories. But because many
people get little activity—and watch an average of 4
hours of television a day—they do not burn enough
calories, which instead turn into extra body fat.
To maintain a healthy weight, AICR suggests eating
mostly plant-based foods—vegetables, fruits, whole
grains and beans—that are minimally processed.
These foods are naturally low in calories and high in
water and fiber, so they fill you up with fewer calories
than high-calorie foods like chips, sweets, baked
goods and fried foods. Plant foods also contain
natural compounds that may help protect against
cancer.
For more information about eating to
maintain your healthy weight, www.aicr.org.
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Get started
1) Start at your current ability level. Go at your
own pace and be active at a time of day that suits
your schedule. You can be active by yourself or
with others. Adding 5, 10 or 15 minutes of activity
like walking a couple of times a day is a good
start if you haven’t been active until now.
2)Do more than you’re doing now. Gradually
increase the 5 minutes to 10 every day for a week
or two; then make it 15 minutes, adding more time
over a few weeks until you are getting at least 30
minutes of moderate activity each day.
3) Remember: Some physical activity is better than none. Even if you have to sit for long periods of
time, get up every hour and move around or try
not to sit still.
Schedule it in!
Treat your physical activity sessions like appointments. Schedule them in your calendar just like
you would a visit to the doctor. You will be more
likely to keep up with your program if you see it on
your planner.
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Types of activity
The three basic types of physical activity are:
aerobic, strengthening and flexibility/balance.
Each helps your body in a different way. Doing all
three kinds during the week varies your activity and
benefits different muscles.
1.
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Aerobic activity helps your heart and lungs get
stronger and work more efficiently by raising
your heart rate to an elevated but safe level for
a period of time.
How it helps
Aerobic activity burns calories. This type of activity is
known to lower cancer risk by controlling your weight
and hormone levels. Aerobic activity can:
• improve your heart (cardio) fitness
• improve levels of “good” cholesterol
• lower blood pressure
• reduce risk for bone loss (osteoporosis)
• increase brain function
• reduce stress
Examples of aerobic activities include:
• brisk walking
• biking
• hiking
• jogging
• dancing
• vacuuming
• sweeping
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for aerobic activity
 Break it up
ne 30-minute walk is equal to three
O
10-minute walks. What matters most
is the total amount you accumulate
throughout the day.
 Seize opportunities
ake the stairs instead of the escalator,
T
park in the farthest spot and walk to your
destination or get off the bus two stops
early. You can fit in more physical activity
just by making a few small adjustments
to your daily routine.
 Make it fun—mix it up
hoose activities that you like and look
C
for ways to spice them up when you get
bored—like inviting
a friend along. The
more you enjoy your
routine, the more
likely you are to
stick with it.
For aerobic activity:
Start with a 5–10 minute warm-up. Start slowly
and give your body a chance to get used to the new
activity.
Listen to your body. Continue your activity at a
pace that feels comfortable. Allow time for a 5- to
10-minute cool-down at the end.
Push yourself. When you can complete your routine
with ease, start to boost its intensity by increasing
the speed, the distance or the difficulty (e.g., adding
a hill to your walking route).
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2.
Strength training works your muscles
against weight or resistance to increase
strength. Starting around age 30, muscle
strength decreases by a small amount
every year. That’s why strengthening exercises are
important for everyone, especially older adults.
Strength training increases and maintains muscle
mass. It can also build bone density.
How it helps
Weight training can:
• improve blood sugar control for people with
diabetes
• build bone density to stave off osteoporosis
• strengthen core muscles to alleviate back pain
For strength training, use inexpensive free weights
(i.e., dumbbells), weight machines or resistance
bands. Cans of food or your own body weight work,
too.
For strength training:
Start with a warm-up. To avoid injury from straining
inert muscles with sudden weight resistance, go
for a 5–10 minute brisk walk or do a short routine
of jumping jacks and marching in place before you
begin your routine.
Listen to your body. Do at least one exercise for
each major muscle group: abdominals, arms, back,
chest, legs and shoulders. Avoid working the same
muscles two days in a row because they need a day
in between to recover and grow stronger.
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for strength training
 Learn the technique
To avoid injury, become familiar with the
proper technique for each exercise. There
are books and websites that can guide
you through a strength-training program
(see page 19). You could also work with an
instructor for a few sessions to be sure you
have it right.
 Make it challenging
Moderate-to-vigorous intensity means
completing 8–12 repetitions. If you can’t
complete at least 8 repetitions, then the
weight is too heavy. If you can complete
more than 12–15 repetitions, then the
weight is too light. Write down the amount
of weight and repetitions in a diary so you
know when to increase them.
Pay attention to how each exercise feels. Strength
training should challenge your muscles but should
never be painful. If an exercise doesn’t feel
comfortable, remove it from your routine. However,
you will get the most benefit by building up to a
moderate-to-vigorous intensity strength training
routine 2–3 times each week.
3.
Flexibility and balance become especially
important as you get older. A regular series
of flexibility and balance exercises that
works your joints through their full range of
motion can help you stay physically active for lower
cancer risk.
Simply bending and touching your toes from a
standing or seated position, reaching high above
your head and alternating reaches (as if you were
climbing a ladder) will help strengthen your muscles.
Although these movements are considered light—
and not intense enough to count toward the 30
minutes of moderate activity needed daily for cancer
prevention—they are still important.
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For flexibility and balance:
A class or home routine should include at least one
exercise for each major muscle group of the body:
abdominals, arms, back, chest, legs and shoulders.
Hold each flexibility pose 10–30 seconds. Try to do
some every day.
for flexibility and balance
Start with a warm-up because working
cold muscles may cause injury.
Stretch between sets during weight-
training or at the end of your workout.
Check out books and websites that can
show you some effective flexibility and
balance exercises; for example, go4life
.nia.nih.gov/exercises
Try a yoga, tai chi or Pilates class.
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We
can!
How hard should
you work?
Intensity can be light, moderate or vigorous. It is
based on your current fitness level. When you begin
an exercise program, a 3-mile-per-hour (mph) walk may
be vigorous activity. As you become more fit, the walk
will become easier to complete in less time and may
be considered a moderate activity.
Light intensity activities:
• walking slowly (2 mph)
• golfing, using powered cart
• gardening or pruning
• bicycling, leisurely
• dusting or vacuuming
• light stretching or warming up
Moderate intensity activities:
• walking briskly (3.5 mph)
• swimming, recreational
• raking the lawn
• tennis, doubles
• golfing, pulling or carrying clubs
• bicycling (5–9 mph) on level terrain
• scrubbing floors or washing windows
• weight lifting machines, free weights
or resistance bands
Vigorous intensity activities:
• jogging or running (5 mph)
• swimming laps
• mowing lawn, hand mower
• tennis, singles
• bicycling more than 10 mph
or on steep uphill terrain
• dancing at a fast pace
• circuit training with weight machines
• team sports like soccer or basketball
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Popular Physical Activities and Calories Burned
Calorie expenditures listed below are approximate for a 160 lb.
person doing the activity at moderate intensity or speed for
30 minutes.
Activity
Expenditure
Cycling at 10 miles per hour
138 calories
Walking at 3.5 miles
per hour
200 calories
Rowing
210 calories
Swimming laps
210 calories
Aerobics, high impact or step 272 calories
Weight lifting, vigorous
280 calories
Hiking with backpack
364 calories
By comparison, here are examples of sedentary
activities and calories burned:
Sleeping
33 calories
Watching TV, sitting or lying
47 calories
Sitting, playing cards or
in meetings
57 calories
Sitting, typing or writing
69 calories
Standing
69 calories
Source: Ainsworth, BE et. al., 2011 Compendium of Physical
Activities, Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2011 Aug;43(8):1575-81.
Stay active throughout life
Older adults are urged to follow
our recommendation of at least
30 minutes of daily moderate
activity. If you have a health
condition that may prevent you
from being physically active, check
with your health care provider.
Otherwise, being older is no
reason to be inactive, says the
National Institute on Aging.
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Need more help?
The information in this booklet is about becoming
physically active for cancer prevention. Eating a healthy
diet, staying in shape and not smoking play a big part,
too. Find out more in our booklet, 10 Ways to Reduce
Your Cancer Risk, and other free AICR brochures.
Visit www.aicr.org to download brochures or contact
AICR to order up to 3 individual titles for free:
• Eat Well
• Simple Steps: Mix It Up
• Reach Your
• Simple Steps: Keep It Up
Healthy Weight
• Simple Steps:
• The New American Plate
Start Where You Are
Contact us at:
American Institute for Cancer Research
1759 R Street, NW, P.O. Box 97167
Washington, DC 20090-7167
or call: 1-800-843-8114 or 202-328-7744
The following websites have more information:
America on the Move
www.americaonthemove.org
American Council on Exercise
Get Fit workouts and videos
www.acefitness.org/getfit
Go4Life ®National Institute on Aging
Exercises for adults and related information.
Go4life.nia.nih.gov
1-800-222-2225
Growing Stronger: Strength Training for Older Adults
growingstronger.nutrition.tufts.edu/
Developed by Tufts University and the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, this exercise
program focuses on older adults.
The Walking Site
www.thewalkingsite.com
Tells how to use a pedometer and calculate your steps.
Contact your cancer center, yoga center with
certified instructors, tai chi center, YMCA or county
department of recreation.
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About AICR
OUR VISION: We want to live in a world where no one
develops a preventable cancer.
OUR MISSION: We champion the latest and most authoritative scientific research from around the world on cancer
prevention and survival through diet, weight and physical activity, so that we can help people make informed
lifestyle choices to reduce their cancer risk.
We have contributed over $105 million for innovative
research conducted at universities, hospitals and research
centers across the country. Find evidence-based tools and
information for lowering cancer risk, including AICR’s Recommendations for Cancer Prevention, at www.aicr.org.
About the Continuous Update Project
As the U.S. charity in the World Cancer Research Fund
network, we contribute to the Continuous Update Project
(CUP), an ongoing analysis of global scientific research
into the link between diet, physical activity, weight and
cancer.
The CUP produces periodic reports on the state of the
evidence linking various lifestyle factors to risk of specific cancers. These reports will inform a major update
of our Recommendations for Cancer Prevention scheduled for 2017.
Visit our website for the complete list of CUP reports
including:
• 2015 Gallbladder Cancer
• 2015 Liver Cancer
• 2014 Prostate Cancer
• 2014 Breast Cancer Survivors
• 2014 Ovarian Cancer
• 2013 Endometrial Cancer
• 2012 Pancreatic Cancer
Analyzing the research on cancer
• 2011 Colorectal Cancer
prevention and survival
• 2010 Breast Cancer
You can support AICR’s life-saving research and education in a variety of ways:
• make a donation online at www.aicr.org;
•w
rite to AICR, 1759 R Street, NW, P.O. Box 97167,
Washington, DC 20090-7167; or
• include a bequest in your will.
For more information, contact our Gift Planning Department at 1-800-843-8114 or [email protected].
© 2008 AICR
Latest revision, February 2015
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CREDITS
COVER: iStock
PAGES 3, 4, 5, 10, 13, 16, 17: Thinkstock
PAGES 11, 18: Fotolia
PAGE 12: Getty Images
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CancerPrevention Together We Can is an initiative
of the American Institute for Cancer Research.
The website, www.aicr.org/can-prevent is dedicated to presenting evidence-based, user-friendly
and interactive tools that educate and empower
people to reduce cancer risk.
AICR Guidelines for Cancer Prevention
The choices you make about food, physical
activity and weight management can reduce
your chances of developing cancer.
• Choose mostly plant foods, limit red meat and
avoid processed meat.
• Be physically active every day in any way for 30
minutes or more. Limit sedentary habits, like
watching television.
• Aim to be a healthy weight throughout life.
And always remember—do not smoke or
chew tobacco.
www.aicr.org
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