Watching just three minutes of TV can ‘drive up your cancer risk up to 15%’

WATCHING even just a few minutes of TV a day can increase your cancer risk by up to 15 per cent, research suggests. Scientists have found that swapping vigorous exercise for more sedentary behaviour – such as sitting at a desk or watching TV – increased the risk of cancer. Scientists have found that swapping exercise for watching TV increases your risk of cancer Credit: Getty Reducing the amount of exercise you do by even a few minutes a day increases your risk of the disease Credit: Getty They also warned that people who have been active throughout their lives should “do all they can” to maintain their exercise regime, as even small drops in activity can affect health. Writing in the BMC Medicine journal, researchers found that the more people moved, the lower their risk of cancer. Sign up for the Health newsletter Thank you! Previous studies have found strong evidence that higher levels of activity are linked to a lower risk of cancers including bladder, breast, bowel, kidney and stomach. Dr John Mitchell, lead author of the study from University College London, said: “Based on theoretical modelling, our study showed even losing two to three minutes per day of vigorous activity, such as running for a bus, and replacing it with sitting down, sleep or light activity increased their cancer risk.” In this new research, scientists looked at factors such as how long people spent sleeping, time spent sitting and standing, and then any movement and the level of intensity. They analysed 59,218 people with an average age of 61.7 from the UK Biobank – a database of half a million volunteers taking part in medical research. Over an eight-year follow-up, some 2,385 cancers occurred in the group. The research found that replacing 15 minutes of sleep or sitting still with 15 minutes of movement was linked to a 2 per cent reduced risk of cancer. Most read in Health But on the other hand, swapping 30 minutes of movement for 30 minutes of watching TV increased the cancer risk by 8 per cent. What’s more, swapping this amount of exercise for sleep increased the risk by 7 per cent. NHS exercise guidelines Adults should do some type of physical activity every day, the NHS says. Exercise just once or twice a week can reduce the risk of heart disease or stroke. According to the NHS, adults should aim to: Do strengthening activities that work all the major muscle groups (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms) on at least two days a week Do at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity a week or 75 minutes of vigorous intensity activity a week Spread exercise evenly over four to five days a week, or every day reduce time spent sitting or lying down and break up long periods of not moving with some activity You can also achieve your weekly activity target with: Several short sessions of very vigorous intensity activity A mix of moderate, vigorous and very vigorous intensity activity Moderate activity will raise your heart rate, and make you breathe faster and feel warmer. One way to tell if you’re working at a moderate intensity level is if you can still talk, but not sing. Source: NHS Dr Mitchell said: “Our study showed that there’s an increased risk of cancer for those who spend a lot of time sitting down. “We also explored what might happen if people leading active lives reduced their levels of physical activity and found that they also face a higher cancer risk.” Current NHS guidelines say adults should aim to do at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity or 75 minutes of vigorous intensity activity each week. Moderate activity can include very brisk walking (4mph or faster), badminton or cycling at 10 to 12mph. And vigorous activities include hiking, jogging at 6mph or faster, basketball, tennis or fast cycling. Adults should also do strengthening activities that work all the major muscle groups – legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms – on at least two days a week. Dr Mitchell said: “The take-home message is that for people already leading physically active lives, it’s really important to maintain that level of activity as you get older.” Comment now