Researchers were surprised by the results. It turned out that increasing the intensity of daily tasks by just 4-5 minutes a day, performed in short breaks of about 1 minute each, is associated with an overall reduction in cancer risk by 18%, and up to 32% for types of cancer linked to physical activity.
These include cancers whose risk increases in the absence of exercise, typically including kidney, liver, lung, head and neck, esophageal, bladder, breast, endometrial, myeloid leukemia, and myeloma cancers.
Life Without Sports, But With Daily Minimal Activity
The study utilized data from wearable devices tracking the daily activity of over 22,000 people who do not engage in sports. Researchers then monitored the clinical medical records of this group for nearly 7 years to observe cancer occurrences.
It was found that the risk of cancer was significantly lower among those who had 4-5 minutes of vigorous intermittent physical activity (Vilpa) compared to those who had none at all. As noted by the Daily Mail, the term “Vilpa” was coined by researchers to describe very short bursts of activity (approximately 1 minute each) that we enjoy doing every day.
Professor Stamatakis states that intermittent physical activity is akin to applying the principles of high-intensity interval training in everyday life. He adds that adults who do not engage in sports have an increased risk of developing certain types of cancer. However, until recently, experts were unable to measure the impact of less structured forms of intense physical activity.
In a sample of 22,398 individuals with an average age of 62, who did not participate in sports during their leisure time and did not walk regularly, researchers identified 2,356 new cases of cancer over an average follow-up period of 6.7 years. Among these, 1,084 cases were related to a lack of physical activity.
At the same time, at least 3.5 minutes of daily periodic mundane activity were associated with an 18% reduction in cancer incidence compared to having no activity at all. Meanwhile, 4.5 minutes of short bursts of physical activity each day contributed to a 32% reduction in the risk of sport-related cancers.