Physical activity – conquering cancer and cardiovascular disease

If ever more evidence was needed for the powerful effects of physical activity on chronic and serious disease, it can be found in this South African Sports Medicine Association (SASMA) edition of BJSM! We spotlight leading cancer and exercise research from South African and abroad. In a sample of 28 248 South African participants diagnosed with stage 1 cancer, Mabena and colleagues from the University of the Witwatersrand show an inverse relationship between prediagnosed physical activity and cancer progression and overall mortality (see page 715) . In other words, being physically active before the diagnosis of cancer reduced the risk of cancer progression or mortality. Furthermore, individuals who engaged in more than an average of 60 min of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity per week had a lower rate of progression and death compared with individuals with lower levels of physical activity (<60 min) or no physical activity. In another original study, Jiang and colleagues (see page 706) explored the associations between post-diagnosis physical activity and cardiovascular risk in 6109 long-term cancer survivors. The study …