If You Sit, You May Get Cancer

Sedentary lifestyle is the latest craze among people. People don’t want to do anything. These people just prefer to sit and allow time to pass by. Sitting at the same place for a long duration increases the chances of becoming obese. This idleness also makes a person susceptible to the onset of coronary heart disease as it lowers the levels of lipase, the enzyme responsible for reducing the body fat levels. The risk for heart disease is independent of the risk for obesity.

Exercise reduces cancer risk

It has now been shown that simply sitting at the same place for hours can increase the risk for cancer. Already it has been shown that exercise reduces the risk for some forms of cancer. Prolonged sitting can increase inflammatory reactions in the body and this may promote cancer. Exercise stimulates the immune system and the active immune system may have something to do with this. The present advice given by doctors is to exercise and at the same time avoiding sitting for prolonged periods. This risk for cancer is also independent of the risk for obesity.

Sitting elevates cancer risk

Evidence has accumulated to show that at least three types of cancer can be prevented by being active and avoiding the sitting posture.
• Colon cancer
• Breast cancer
• Endometrial cancer
Evidence shows that exercise brings about a 30% reduction in risk for colon cancer, 25% reduction in the risk for breast cancer and a 30% decrease in the risk for endometrial cancer.