JAMA Oncology Author Interviews Consistent Adherence to Physical Activity Guidelines and Digestive System Cancer Risk and Mortality
Oct 30, 2025
In this discussion, Edward L. Giovannucci, a nutritional epidemiologist, and Yiwen Zhang, a postdoctoral researcher, explore the intriguing link between physical activity and digestive system cancer risks. They reveal that consistency in exercise matters more than intensity, with moderate daily activity, like walking, proving to be a key prevention strategy. Challenges in long-term studies of 231,000 participants are also addressed, alongside surprising findings that suggest no additional benefits of high activity levels. Their insights emphasize achievable lifestyle changes for cancer prevention.
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Digestive Cancers Most Linked To Activity
- Digestive system cancers show the strongest protective link with physical activity compared with other cancers.
- Consistent long-term activity matters more than short-term intensity for reducing risk.
Consistency Outweighs Raw Activity Amount
- Long-term consistency in activity over decades provided clearer protection than single-time measures.
- When analyzed jointly, consistency explained the benefit more than sheer activity amount.
A Threshold Around 17 MET-Hours/Week
- Reaching ~17 MET-hours/week (e.g., ~5 hours walking) yields substantial benefit.
- Doing two to three times more activity did not add measurable additional protection.