Patients Don't Know Exercise Cuts Colon Cancer Risk

[Guest guest]

[newsmax.com]

 

Patients Don't Know Exercise Cuts Colon Cancer Risk

 

Many experts now consider colon cancer a largely preventable disease,

but a new study finds that primary care doctors might not always inform

patients about one important step they can take to reduce their risk:

becoming more physically active.

 

When researchers analyzed survey data from 1,932 adults who answered

questions about colon cancer risks, only 15 percent listed physical

activity as a means of reducing their risk.

 

Yet a sedentary lifestyle accounts for as many as 14 percent of all

colon cancer cases in the United States. Highly active individuals have

a 30 percent to 40 percent lower risk of developing colon cancer,

according to the researchers.

 

Several factors contribute to the information gap, according to study

co-author Elliot Coups. " Patients may not be learning this information

from their health care providers and information regarding colon cancer

prevention is not as well publicized as it could be. "

 

The study appears in the August issue of the journal Patient Education

and Counseling.

 

Doctors might find it easier to promote the general benefits of

exercise, without specifically mentioning colon cancer, even to a

patient who has a family history or has other risk factors, said Coups,

at the Division of Population Science at the Fox Chase Cancer Center in

Cheltenham, Pa.

" In the context of busy clinic visits, it is in some ways efficient for

patients to be reminded that physical activity is good for their health

in general, " Coups added. "

Going through each specific health benefit of physical activity would

take considerable time. "

 

Doctors might also need to offer more information about what it means to

be physically active, as patients could imagine it involves dramatic

lifestyle alterations, he said.

 

There is a strong benefit in going from completely sedentary to some

modest levels of activity, such as walking two to three hours a week or

gardening, said Edward Giovannucci, M.D., a professor at the Harvard

School of Public Health. & ldquo;Sedentary people should first set such

moderate, achievable goals. More benefits could accrue from higher

levels and more intense exercise, such as jogging, running or tennis. To

some extent, more may be better, but it is important to note that a

little is much better than nothing. "

 

Because studies might skew toward cultural norms and 40 percent of

Americans never engage in leisure time physical activity, inactivity

could be a factor in over 14 percent of the estimated 112,000 cases of

colon cancer diagnosed each year, Giovannucci said.

 

" While many people are vaguely aware that exercise is good, the idea

that exercise specifically prevents a large proportion of a common

cancer may make an impact on the patient, " he said.