How lifestyle exercise can lower your cancer risk, according to a new study

As little as one or two minutes of vigorous exercise a day could lower your cancer risk, according to a new study.

As little as one or two minutes of vigorous exercise a day could lower your cancer risk, according to a new study.

This activity can include power walking, climbing stairs, doing strenuous housework or playing with the kids, according to Dr. Emmanuel Stamatakis, lead author of the study that published Thursday in the journal JAMA Oncology.

This report relied on data from more than 22,000 people in the UK Biobank, a large biomedical database and research resource that follows residents long term.

Participants reported not regularly exercising in their leisure time, and they wore accelerometers to track their VILPA, or vigorous intermittent lifestyle physical activity, the study said.

“Until recently we knew very little about activities done as part of daily living that reach vigorous intensity,” said Stamatakis, a professor of physical activity, lifestyle and population health at the Charles Perkins Centre and faculty of medicine and health at the University of Sydney in Australia, via email.

Adults who incorporated about 4½ minutes of vigorous activity in short one- or two-minute bouts had more than 30% lower incidence rates of cancer, the study found.

Understanding the health impact of vigorous activity in daily life is important because for many it may be more manageable, said CNN fitness contributor Dana Santas, a mind-body coach for professional athletes.