Almost 50% of Preventable Cancers Linked to Just Two Lifestyle Habits

By Carly Cassella of ScienceAlert. Excerpts:

"According to a recent analysis from the World Health Organization (WHO), more than a third of all cancer cases globally are preventable.

Lung, stomach, and cervical cancers make up nearly half of those cases.

This means that millions of deadly cancers every year could be prevented through medical intervention, behavior changes, reducing occupational risks, or tackling environmental pollutants."

"n 2022, there were nearly 19 million new cases of cancer. Roughly 38 percent of those diagnoses were related to 30 changeable risk factors."

"These included tobacco smoking, alcohol consumption, high body mass index, insufficient physical activity, smokeless tobacco (like chewing tobacco), a traditional stimulant known as areca nut"

"The number one preventable factor associated with cancer? Smoking tobacco. It was linked to 15 percent of all cancer cases that year."

"After tobacco smoking, the runner-up among changeable lifestyle factors was drinking alcohol. It accounted for 3.2 percent of all new cancer cases (approximately 700,000 cases)."

"smoking tobacco and drinking alcohol account for almost half (around 48 percent) of all cases of preventable cancer."

Related posts:

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Regular physical exercise is the single, most effective intervention that can improve brain and physical health (2025) 

Can weight-lifting promote empathy? Can aerobic exercise improve memory? (2025) 

Facing a Cancer Diagnosis? Exercise and Diet Could Make a Difference (2025) 

For a long and healthy life, diet and regular exercise are a better bet than trendy supplements and expensive longevity clinics (2025)

How Your Midlife Eating Habits Can Help You Live Longer and Healthier: A plant-rich diet with some fish and dairy might make the biggest difference, new research suggests (2025)

Self-Control as a Performance-Enhancing Drug: Like cognitive ability, self-control predicts health, wealth, and all things good (2024)

Does Exercise Improve Survival After a Cancer Diagnosis? An Encouraging New Study (2024)

Life expectancy can increase by up to 10 years following sustained shifts towards healthier diets in the United Kingdom (2023)

Even Short Runs Have Major Health Benefits (2023)

What if the Most Powerful Way to Live Longer Is Just Exercise? (2023) 

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Almost half of cancer deaths globally are attributable to preventable risk factors, new study suggests (2022)

New research leads to doubt over the extent or even existence of the ego‐depletion effect (the theory of the exhaustible willpower muscle) (2019)

How lifestyle changes can reduce the risk of dementia (2019)

Good health begins with individual decisions (2018)

Nearly half of U.S. cancer deaths blamed on unhealthy behavior (2017)

Regular Exercise: Antidote for Deadly Diseases? (2016)

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Physical exercise and a nutritious diet can fight dementia

See Scientists Are Finally Making Progress Against Alzheimer’s: New drugs show promise, and research finds value in vaccines, antivirals, exercise and probiotics by 

"Lifestyle changes can augment the benefits. A recently published randomized trial found that a “treatment” of regular physical and cognitive exercise, nutritious diet and social engagement improved cognitive performance among previously sedentary older adults at risk of dementia. A smaller study earlier this summer found such lifestyle interventions improved mental acuity of early-stage Alzheimer’s patients, as well as physiological measures of brain health. The treatment group in the latter study also showed an increase in beneficial bacteria in their guts."

Related posts:

Regular physical exercise is the single, most effective intervention that can improve brain and physical health (2025) 

Can weight-lifting promote empathy? Can aerobic exercise improve memory? (2025) 

Facing a Cancer Diagnosis? Exercise and Diet Could Make a Difference (2025) 

For a long and healthy life, diet and regular exercise are a better bet than trendy supplements and expensive longevity clinics (2025)

How Your Midlife Eating Habits Can Help You Live Longer and Healthier: A plant-rich diet with some fish and dairy might make the biggest difference, new research suggests (2025)

Self-Control as a Performance-Enhancing Drug: Like cognitive ability, self-control predicts health, wealth, and all things good (2024)

Does Exercise Improve Survival After a Cancer Diagnosis? An Encouraging New Study (2024)

Life expectancy can increase by up to 10 years following sustained shifts towards healthier diets in the United Kingdom (2023)

Even Short Runs Have Major Health Benefits (2023)

What if the Most Powerful Way to Live Longer Is Just Exercise? (2023) 

Exercise Helps Blunt the Effects of Covid-19, Study Suggests (2023)

Carry Your Groceries, Take the Stairs: Short, Intense Movement Can Improve Your Health (plus non drug ways to fight diabetes and Covid) (2022)

Almost half of cancer deaths globally are attributable to preventable risk factors, new study suggests (2022)

New research leads to doubt over the extent or even existence of the ego‐depletion effect (the theory of the exhaustible willpower muscle) (2019)

How lifestyle changes can reduce the risk of dementia (2019)

Good health begins with individual decisions (2018)

Nearly half of U.S. cancer deaths blamed on unhealthy behavior (2017)

Regular Exercise: Antidote for Deadly Diseases? (2016)

Is Willpower An Untapped Resource? (2011) 

Regular physical exercise is the single, most effective intervention that can improve brain and physical health

See Live Q&A: Brain Health as You Age—We Answered Your Questions by Alex Janin and Amy Dockser Marcus of The WSJ. Excerpts:

"Regular physical exercise is the single, most effective intervention that can improve brain and physical health" [said Dr. Zaldy Tan, a memory disorders specialist who heads the Memory & Healthy Aging Program at Cedars-Sinai.]

"I make it a point to learn something new everyday" [said Dr. Tan]

"I try (and usually succeed) in getting seven to eight hours of restful sleep every night." [said Dr. Tan]

"45% of the risk [of Alzheimer’s disease (AD)] is from lifestyle/environment and potentially modifiable." [said Dr. Tan] 

"Higher levels of physical activity has been associated by multiple, large studies with lower risk of developing dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease. The magnitude of risk reduction can be up to 20-40% and appears to be robust even after adjusting for potential confounders such as age, gender, genetic risk, and education. At the Framingham Heart Study, we found that lower levels of physical activity is associated with higher risk for developing dementia in people aged 60 years or older. We also found that people with higher levels of physical activity not only have lower risk of developing dementia but also have bigger brains on MRI scanning. The study can be found here." [said Dr. Tan]

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Can weight-lifting promote empathy? Can aerobic exercise improve memory? (2025) 

Facing a Cancer Diagnosis? Exercise and Diet Could Make a Difference (2025) 

For a long and healthy life, diet and regular exercise are a better bet than trendy supplements and expensive longevity clinics (2025)

How Your Midlife Eating Habits Can Help You Live Longer and Healthier: A plant-rich diet with some fish and dairy might make the biggest difference, new research suggests (2025)

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Does Exercise Improve Survival After a Cancer Diagnosis? An Encouraging New Study (2024)

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Even Short Runs Have Major Health Benefits (2023)

What if the Most Powerful Way to Live Longer Is Just Exercise? (2023) 

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Carry Your Groceries, Take the Stairs: Short, Intense Movement Can Improve Your Health (plus non drug ways to fight diabetes and Covid) (2022)

Almost half of cancer deaths globally are attributable to preventable risk factors, new study suggests (2022)

New research leads to doubt over the extent or even existence of the ego‐depletion effect (the theory of the exhaustible willpower muscle) (2019)

How lifestyle changes can reduce the risk of dementia (2019)

Good health begins with individual decisions (2018)

Nearly half of U.S. cancer deaths blamed on unhealthy behavior (2017)

Regular Exercise: Antidote for Deadly Diseases? (2016)

Is Willpower An Untapped Resource? (2011) 

Can weight-lifting promote empathy? Can aerobic exercise improve memory?

From a book review of "Stronger: The Untold Story of Muscle in Our Lives" by Michael Joseph Gross. The review is by Michael P.H. Stanley,  a neurologist at Tufts Medical Center.

"He cites recent scientific discoveries that have identified the ways—long intuitively known by those who are physically active—that exercise produces neurological benefits: “The brain’s posterior cingulate cortex, the seat of empathy, grows larger when people do weight-lifting exercise,” we are told, while “the hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for memory, grows larger when people do aerobic exercise.”" 

Related posts:

Facing a Cancer Diagnosis? Exercise and Diet Could Make a Difference (2025) 

For a long and healthy life, diet and regular exercise are a better bet than trendy supplements and expensive longevity clinics (2025)

How Your Midlife Eating Habits Can Help You Live Longer and Healthier: A plant-rich diet with some fish and dairy might make the biggest difference, new research suggests (2025)

Self-Control as a Performance-Enhancing Drug: Like cognitive ability, self-control predicts health, wealth, and all things good (2024)

Does Exercise Improve Survival After a Cancer Diagnosis? An Encouraging New Study (2024)

Life expectancy can increase by up to 10 years following sustained shifts towards healthier diets in the United Kingdom (2023)

Even Short Runs Have Major Health Benefits (2023)

What if the Most Powerful Way to Live Longer Is Just Exercise? (2023) 

Exercise Helps Blunt the Effects of Covid-19, Study Suggests (2023)

Carry Your Groceries, Take the Stairs: Short, Intense Movement Can Improve Your Health (plus non drug ways to fight diabetes and Covid) (2022)

Almost half of cancer deaths globally are attributable to preventable risk factors, new study suggests (2022)

New research leads to doubt over the extent or even existence of the ego‐depletion effect (the theory of the exhaustible willpower muscle) (2019)

How lifestyle changes can reduce the risk of dementia (2019)

Good health begins with individual decisions (2018)

Nearly half of U.S. cancer deaths blamed on unhealthy behavior (2017)

Regular Exercise: Antidote for Deadly Diseases? (2016)

Is Willpower An Untapped Resource? (2011)

Facing a Cancer Diagnosis? Exercise and Diet Could Make a Difference

Going back to basics might help some patients live longer or respond to therapy, data shows

By Brianna Abbott of The WSJ. Excerpts:

"A structured exercise program with a trainer helped colorectal cancer patients lower their risks of death and cancer recurrence after treatment"

"Patients in the program had a 37% lower risk of death after eight years, compared with patients who only received educational information on exercise."

[Peter Campbell, a cancer epidemiologist said] "“If this were a therapeutic, people would leave the building to go order this drug for their patients on Monday morning.”"

"eating a diet heavier in foods that research shows can increase inflammation was linked to worse survival overall in colorectal cancer patients compared with those who consumed less-inflammatory foods. Other researchers are presenting data on how higher-fiber diets could improve melanoma patients’ response to immune-boosting drugs."

"growing evidence is finding that they [more movement and a healthy diet] could also boost some cancer patients’ lifespans or responses to therapy." 

"eating an inflammation-linked diet heavier in processed meats, refined grains and sugary beverages was linked to worse survival from any cause, compared with a diet higher in leafy greens and drinks including coffee or tea."

"Patients who underwent the structured program had a 28% lower risk of their cancer coming back or developing a new cancer, the trial found. At eight years, 90% of the patients in the exercise program were alive, compared with 83% of the other patients. The program prevented one death for every 14 people who joined it"

"Some 77% of patients on the high-fiber diet responded to their immune-boosting treatment, compared with 29% in the control group."

Related posts:

For a long and healthy life, diet and regular exercise are a better bet than trendy supplements and expensive longevity clinics (2025)

How Your Midlife Eating Habits Can Help You Live Longer and Healthier: A plant-rich diet with some fish and dairy might make the biggest difference, new research suggests (2025)

Self-Control as a Performance-Enhancing Drug: Like cognitive ability, self-control predicts health, wealth, and all things good (2024)

Does Exercise Improve Survival After a Cancer Diagnosis? An Encouraging New Study (2024)

Life expectancy can increase by up to 10 years following sustained shifts towards healthier diets in the United Kingdom (2023)

Even Short Runs Have Major Health Benefits (2023)

What if the Most Powerful Way to Live Longer Is Just Exercise? (2023) 

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Carry Your Groceries, Take the Stairs: Short, Intense Movement Can Improve Your Health (plus non drug ways to fight diabetes and Covid) (2022)

Almost half of cancer deaths globally are attributable to preventable risk factors, new study suggests (2022)

New research leads to doubt over the extent or even existence of the ego‐depletion effect (the theory of the exhaustible willpower muscle) (2019)

How lifestyle changes can reduce the risk of dementia (2019)

Good health begins with individual decisions (2018)

Nearly half of U.S. cancer deaths blamed on unhealthy behavior (2017)

Regular Exercise: Antidote for Deadly Diseases? (2016)

Is Willpower An Untapped Resource? (2011)

For a long and healthy life, diet and regular exercise are a better bet than trendy supplements and expensive longevity clinics

See ‘Super Agers’ Review: Living the Good Life by David A. Shaywitz.  He reviewed the book Super Agers: An Evidence-Based Approach to Longevity by Dr. Eric Topol. Dr. Shaywitz is a lecturer at Harvard Medical School and an adjunct fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. Excerpts:

"Compared with their peers, the disease-free subjects were generally thinner, exercised more frequently and seemed “remarkably upbeat,” often with rich social lives."

"“Nothing surpasses regular exercise for promotion of healthy aging,” Dr. Topol writes, calling it “the single most effective medical intervention that we know.” If you came up with a drug that delivered all the health benefits of exercise, he says, “it would be considered a miracle breakthrough.”"

"Healthy eating and a good night’s sleep are also crucial. While the “evidence remains thin for what constitutes the best healthy diet,” Dr. Topol writes, we have a better sense of what it doesn’t contain: ultraprocessed foods (like hot dogs and snack cakes) that induce systemic inflammation and increase your risks for developing all the major age-related diseases."

"spending time in nature can bring “diverse health benefits” and that music, optimism, hobbies and human touch all promote healthy aging."

"there’s “little or no hard evidence for the benefit of taking any vitamins or supplements, especially in those who are following a healthy diet.” This includes nootropic supplements purported to improve learning and memory."

"Dr. Topol is critical of the indiscriminate use of whole-body MRI scans and other comprehensive diagnostic tests marketed to the “curious affluent.”"

"He’s not enthusiastic about companies that market tests of “biological age,” a composite estimate of bodily aging (based on molecular markers) that he believes offers little actionable insight for patients."

See also A Doctor’s Science-Backed Formula for Aging Better: Dr. Eric Topol’s longevity work revealed simple and practical steps to stay healthy. He shares the tips that he follows by Amy Dockser Marcus of The WSJ.

Related posts:

How Your Midlife Eating Habits Can Help You Live Longer and Healthier: A plant-rich diet with some fish and dairy might make the biggest difference, new research suggests (2025)

Self-Control as a Performance-Enhancing Drug: Like cognitive ability, self-control predicts health, wealth, and all things good (2024)

Does Exercise Improve Survival After a Cancer Diagnosis? An Encouraging New Study (2024)

Life expectancy can increase by up to 10 years following sustained shifts towards healthier diets in the United Kingdom (2023)

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What if the Most Powerful Way to Live Longer Is Just Exercise? (2023) 

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New research leads to doubt over the extent or even existence of the ego‐depletion effect (the theory of the exhaustible willpower muscle) (2019)

How lifestyle changes can reduce the risk of dementia (2019)

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Nearly half of U.S. cancer deaths blamed on unhealthy behavior (2017)

Regular Exercise: Antidote for Deadly Diseases? (2016)

Is Willpower An Untapped Resource? (2011)

How Your Midlife Eating Habits Can Help You Live Longer and Healthier

A plant-rich diet with some fish and dairy might make the biggest difference, new research suggests

By Alex Janin of The WSJ. Excerpts:

"If you reach 70 years old healthy and disease-free, you might have your diet to thank, new research suggests."

"A diet emphasizing vegetables, fruits, healthy fats and some animal products such as fish and dairy over the long term was the most likely to make a difference in aging in good health."

"Sticking to a balanced diet with a moderate amount of healthy animal protein, in fact, outperformed following a more plant-based diet, in terms of healthy aging. The researchers also found that eating more ultraprocessed foods was linked to worse physical and cognitive health in older age."

"The study, published in Nature Medicine and led by researchers at Harvard University, the University of Copenhagen and the University of Montreal"

"The dietary habits most closely linked to healthy aging . . . likely work by reducing inflammation, improving metabolism and supporting gut health." 

"People who scored high in adhering to the so-called Alternative Healthy Eating Index, a plant-rich diet plus proteins such as dairy and fish, had an 86% higher chance of healthy aging than those whose diets scored lowest for that diet."

"Diets high in trans fats, salt, sugary drinks, and red or processed meats—such as steak, ham and sausages—were linked to worse healthy-aging results."

"sticking to similarly healthy diets was linked to a lower risk of premature death." 

Related posts:

Self-Control as a Performance-Enhancing Drug: Like cognitive ability, self-control predicts health, wealth, and all things good (2024)

Does Exercise Improve Survival After a Cancer Diagnosis? An Encouraging New Study (2024)

Life expectancy can increase by up to 10 years following sustained shifts towards healthier diets in the United Kingdom (2023)

Even Short Runs Have Major Health Benefits (2023)

What if the Most Powerful Way to Live Longer Is Just Exercise? (2023) 

Exercise Helps Blunt the Effects of Covid-19, Study Suggests (2023)

Carry Your Groceries, Take the Stairs: Short, Intense Movement Can Improve Your Health (plus non drug ways to fight diabetes and Covid) (2022)

Almost half of cancer deaths globally are attributable to preventable risk factors, new study suggests (2022)

New research leads to doubt over the extent or even existence of the ego‐depletion effect (the theory of the exhaustible willpower muscle) (2019)

How lifestyle changes can reduce the risk of dementia (2019)

Good health begins with individual decisions (2018)

Nearly half of U.S. cancer deaths blamed on unhealthy behavior (2017)

Regular Exercise: Antidote for Deadly Diseases? (2016)

Is Willpower An Untapped Resource? (2011)

Bloomberg's nanny policies had no effect on obesity

See Meet RFK Jr.’s MAHA Elite: There’s a reason Mike Bloomberg’s former health commissioners approve of the HHS nominee by Kimberley A. Strassel of The WSJ. Excerpts:

"“We have to tell people how to lead better lives.” Politicians have a duty to protect citizens from greedy industries, to stop corporations from poisoning our food, to steer us away from bad choices. America has a health crisis, and government must make us healthier.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.?

No, then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg nearly 20 years ago, as he became New York City’s nutritional nag, hectoring and mandating residents, inserting the public-health complex into grocery stores, restaurants and family kitchens. Republicans are now lumbering us with Bloomberg 2.0."

"But New York wasn’t saved. The Big Apple is more obese than it was 20 years ago, with more chronic disease, despite all Nanny Bloomberg’s attempts at coercion. Is that because the evil forces are getting more evil? No. It’s because people continue making bad choices. See the lines to buy that Crumbl Candy Cane Brownie (despite an enforced disclosure it contains 1,210 calories) or the stats on young men who never leave the videogame console. If there’s a conspiracy, it’s us against ourselves."

Self-Control as a Performance-Enhancing Drug

Like cognitive ability, self-control predicts health, wealth, and all things good

By Steve Stewart-Williams. 

"Just a quick note today to share with you one of my all-time favorite graphs. It’s from a classic paper by the psychologist Terrie Moffit and colleagues, and it shows how self-control measured in childhood correlates with a range of important adult life outcomes. Long story short, self-control is an all-purpose good like IQ: It predicts health, wealth, and all things good.

Share

What are the implications? The main one is that interventions to increase self-control could potentially greatly enhance human wellbeing. And the good news here is that people aren’t quite as uncomfortable with the concept of self-control as they are with the concept of IQ. That means we might more easily be able to make some headway.

Anyway, the paper is open access, so you can read the whole thing for free. Here’s the abstract to whet your appetite:

Policy-makers are considering large-scale programs aimed at self-control to improve citizens’ health and wealth and reduce crime. Experimental and economic studies suggest such programs could reap benefits. Yet, is self-control important for the health, wealth, and public safety of the population? Following a cohort of 1,000 children from birth to the age of 32 y, we show that childhood self-control predicts physical health, substance dependence, personal finances, and criminal offending outcomes, following a gradient of self-control. Effects of children’s self-control could be disentangled from their intelligence and social class as well as from mistakes they made as adolescents. In another cohort of 500 sibling-pairs, the sibling with lower self-control had poorer outcomes, despite shared family background. Interventions addressing self-control might reduce a panoply of societal costs, save taxpayers money, and promote prosperity."

Related posts:

Does Exercise Improve Survival After a Cancer Diagnosis? An Encouraging New Study (2024)

Life expectancy can increase by up to 10 years following sustained shifts towards healthier diets in the United Kingdom (2023)

Even Short Runs Have Major Health Benefits (2023)

What if the Most Powerful Way to Live Longer Is Just Exercise? (2023) 

Exercise Helps Blunt the Effects of Covid-19, Study Suggests (2023)

Carry Your Groceries, Take the Stairs: Short, Intense Movement Can Improve Your Health (plus non drug ways to fight diabetes and Covid) (2022)

Almost half of cancer deaths globally are attributable to preventable risk factors, new study suggests (2022)

New research leads to doubt over the extent or even existence of the ego‐depletion effect (the theory of the exhaustible willpower muscle) (2019)

How lifestyle changes can reduce the risk of dementia (2019)

Good health begins with individual decisions (2018)

Nearly half of U.S. cancer deaths blamed on unhealthy behavior (2017)

Regular Exercise: Antidote for Deadly Diseases? (2016)

Does Exercise Improve Survival After a Cancer Diagnosis? An Encouraging New Study

From Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Excerpt:

"For decades, it’s been known that consistent exercise can help people live healthier lives, in part by lowering the risk of cancer.

But can exercise help a person after cancer is diagnosed — potentially improving the amount of time someone might live after a diagnosis?

That was the question a team led by MSK exercise scientist Lee Jones, PhD, set out to answer. Dr. Jones is the Chief of the Exercise Oncology Service, which studies the connection between exercise and cancer.

Dr. Jones and other researchers at MSK analyzed a large data set generated by tracking adults with cancer over many years. The team found that people diagnosed with cancer who regularly exercise reduced their risk of dying from all causes by 25% compared with people with cancer who did not exercise. The median survival time was increased around five years in exercisers compared with non-exercisers.

The research led by Dr. Jones was published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology."

Related posts:

Life expectancy can increase by up to 10 years following sustained shifts towards healthier diets in the United Kingdom (2023)

Even Short Runs Have Major Health Benefits (2023)

What if the Most Powerful Way to Live Longer Is Just Exercise? (2023) 

Exercise Helps Blunt the Effects of Covid-19, Study Suggests (2023)

Carry Your Groceries, Take the Stairs: Short, Intense Movement Can Improve Your Health (plus non drug ways to fight diabetes and Covid) (2022)

Almost half of cancer deaths globally are attributable to preventable risk factors, new study suggests (2022)

New research leads to doubt over the extent or even existence of the ego‐depletion effect (the theory of the exhaustible willpower muscle) (2019)

How lifestyle changes can reduce the risk of dementia (2019)

Good health begins with individual decisions (2018)

Nearly half of U.S. cancer deaths blamed on unhealthy behavior (2017)

Regular Exercise: Antidote for Deadly Diseases? (2016)

Life expectancy can increase by up to 10 years following sustained shifts towards healthier diets in the United Kingdom

From Nature Food.

"Abstract

Adherence to healthy dietary patterns can prevent the development of non-communicable diseases and affect life expectancy. Here, using a prospective population-based cohort data from the UK Biobank, we show that sustained dietary change from unhealthy dietary patterns to the Eatwell Guide dietary recommendations is associated with 8.9 and 8.6 years gain in life expectancy for 40-year-old males and females, respectively. In the same population, sustained dietary change from unhealthy to longevity-associated dietary patterns is associated with 10.8 and 10.4 years gain in life expectancy in males and females, respectively. The largest gains are obtained from consuming more whole grains, nuts and fruits and less sugar-sweetened beverages and processed meats. Understanding the contribution of sustained dietary changes to life expectancy can provide guidance for the development of health policies."

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Even Short Runs Have Major Health Benefits (2023)

What if the Most Powerful Way to Live Longer Is Just Exercise? (2023) 

Exercise Helps Blunt the Effects of Covid-19, Study Suggests (2023)

Carry Your Groceries, Take the Stairs: Short, Intense Movement Can Improve Your Health (plus non drug ways to fight diabetes and Covid) (2022)

Almost half of cancer deaths globally are attributable to preventable risk factors, new study suggests (2022)

New research leads to doubt over the extent or even existence of the ego‐depletion effect (the theory of the exhaustible willpower muscle) (2019)

How lifestyle changes can reduce the risk of dementia (2019)

Good health begins with individual decisions (2018)

Nearly half of U.S. cancer deaths blamed on unhealthy behavior (2017)

Regular Exercise: Antidote for Deadly Diseases? (2016)

Even Short Runs Have Major Health Benefits

Jogging a mile or two a few times a week can help you live longer and reduce your risk of disease

By Markham Heid of The NY Times. Excerpts:

"One might assume that in order to reap the biggest rewards, you need to regularly run long distances, but there’s strong evidence linking even very short, occasional runs to significant health benefits, particularly when it comes to longevity and mental well-being.

“We’ve found that going for something like a two-mile run a few times a week gets you pretty much the full benefit of running in terms of lower mortality,” said Dr. James H. O’Keefe, the director of preventive cardiology at St. Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute in Kansas City, Mo."

"Dr. O’Keefe . . . Compared to nonrunners, people who ran between one and 2.4 hours per week at a slow or moderate pace enjoyed the greatest reductions in mortality — greater even than among runners who logged more miles at a faster pace."

"Other researchers have come to similar conclusions."

"running just five to 10 minutes per day at a slow pace (under six miles per hour) was associated with “markedly reduced risks” for all causes of death. It was also enough to extend a person’s life by several years."

"Even running for less than a mile — assuming a person is running at least a few days a week — is enough to meaningfully improve cardiovascular health and longevity"

"brief bouts of vigorous exercise — such as short runs — are enough to trigger some of these exerkine-related benefits.

Short runs can bolster your mental health, as well."

"adults who got the widely recommended 2.5 hours of moderate physical activity per week had a 25 percent lower risk of depression compared to people who didn’t exercise at all. But those who completed just half of the recommended 2.5 weekly hours still had an 18 percent lower risk of depression compared to people who didn’t exercise."

"“The growing consensus in the field is that the benefits of running start to accrue within minutes,” said Dr. Rajesh Vedanthan, an associate professor of population health at New York University’s Grossman School of Medicine who has studied the relationship between running and longevity.

“The key message here,” he added, “is that any physical activity is much better than none.”"

Related posts:

What if the Most Powerful Way to Live Longer Is Just Exercise? (2023) 

Exercise Helps Blunt the Effects of Covid-19, Study Suggests (2023)

Carry Your Groceries, Take the Stairs: Short, Intense Movement Can Improve Your Health (plus non drug ways to fight diabetes and Covid) (2022)

Almost half of cancer deaths globally are attributable to preventable risk factors, new study suggests (2022)

New research leads to doubt over the extent or even existence of the ego‐depletion effect (the theory of the exhaustible willpower muscle) (2019)

How lifestyle changes can reduce the risk of dementia (2019)

Good health begins with individual decisions (2018)

Nearly half of U.S. cancer deaths blamed on unhealthy behavior (2017)

Regular Exercise: Antidote for Deadly Diseases? (2016)

A Solution To The Health Care Problem? Change In Behavior

We all know about rising health care costs. The health care industry is now about 17% of GDP. How behavior changes can help are in this article Gentlemen, 5 Easy Steps to Living Long and Well.

Here is an excerpt:

"Living past 90, and living well, may be more than a matter of good genes and good luck. Five behaviors in elderly men are associated not only with living into extreme old age, a new study has found, but also with good health and independent functioning.

The behaviors are abstaining from smoking, weight management, blood pressure control, regular exercise and avoiding diabetes. The study reports that all are significantly correlated with healthy survival after 90." 

Related posts:

Being in good physical shape could reduce the risk of nine types of cancer, study finds (2023)

What if the Most Powerful Way to Live Longer Is Just Exercise? (2023)

Exercise Helps Blunt the Effects of Covid-19, Study Suggests (2023)

Carry Your Groceries, Take the Stairs: Short, Intense Movement Can Improve Your Health (plus non drug ways to fight diabetes and Covid) (2022)

Almost half of cancer deaths globally are attributable to preventable risk factors, new study suggests (2022)

New research leads to doubt over the extent or even existence of the ego‐depletion effect (the theory of the exhaustible willpower muscle) (2019)

How lifestyle changes can reduce the risk of dementia (2019)

Good health begins with individual decisions (2018)

Nearly half of U.S. cancer deaths blamed on unhealthy behavior (2017)

Regular Exercise: Antidote for Deadly Diseases? (2016)

Being in good physical shape could reduce the risk of nine types of cancer, study finds

People at high fitness levels had an especially sizable reduction in their risk of gastrointestinal cancers, the research showed

By Maia Pandey of NBC. Excerpts:

"A new study adds to the large body of evidence that being in good physical shape can dramatically reduce cancer risk.

The study, published Tuesday in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, found that men with high levels of cardiorespiratory fitness in young adulthood had a lower risk of developing nine forms of cancer years later, including in the head and the neck, the lungs, the kidneys and the gastrointestinal system.

The study followed more than 1 million young men in Sweden over an average of 33 years, starting when they took a military fitness test that, until 2010, was legally required at around 18 years old. The researchers then analyzed the rates of cancer diagnoses among the men and compared them to the fitness levels registered on their military tests.

The test involved riding a stationary bike, first at a low resistance level for five minutes, then with an increase in resistance of 25 watts per minute until the test takers were too tired to continue. 

The authors of the new study sorted participants into low, moderate and high levels of cardiorespiratory fitness — a measure of how well one’s cardiovascular and respiratory systems supply oxygen to the muscles — based on their bike test results. They found that the people with high fitness levels had a 19% lower risk of head and neck cancer and a 20% lower risk of kidney cancer compared to the low-fitness group.

The risk of lung cancer, meanwhile, was 42% lower for the fittest participants, though that was explained mainly by people’s smoking habits."

"the risk for high-fitness participants was nearly 40% lower for cancers in the esophagus, the liver, the bile ducts and the gallbladder and about 20% lower for the stomach and the colon."

"a March study involving more than 30 million participants found that just 11 minutes of daily physical activity was linked to lower risk of death from various cancers. And a 2016 analysis found that higher physical activity levels were associated with a reduced risk of developing 13 of 26 cancers studied. Studies have shown that physical activity is linked to a 30% lower risk of death even after colorectal cancer diagnoses"

Related posts:

What if the Most Powerful Way to Live Longer Is Just Exercise? (2023)

Exercise Helps Blunt the Effects of Covid-19, Study Suggests (2023)

Carry Your Groceries, Take the Stairs: Short, Intense Movement Can Improve Your Health (plus non drug ways to fight diabetes and Covid) (2022)

Almost half of cancer deaths globally are attributable to preventable risk factors, new study suggests (2022)

New research leads to doubt over the extent or even existence of the ego‐depletion effect (the theory of the exhaustible willpower muscle) (2019)

How lifestyle changes can reduce the risk of dementia (2019)

Good health begins with individual decisions (2018)

Nearly half of U.S. cancer deaths blamed on unhealthy behavior (2017)

Regular Exercise: Antidote for Deadly Diseases? (2016)

What if the Most Powerful Way to Live Longer Is Just Exercise?

People are chasing longevity with ice baths and supplements. But the benefits of exercise have years of science behind them

By Alex Janin of The WSJ. Excerpts:

"Longevity researchers have spent decades hunting for a magic pill to slow the aging process. But the best solution—at least for now—may be the simplest one: Move more.

No single thing—whether it’s regular cold plunges or off-label drugs and supplements like metformin, rapamycin or taurine—has a track record that can match exercise’s in terms of protecting against age-related diseases and helping people get more from their later years, a vast body of research shows.

The muscle and bone growth stimulated by exercise can help older adults maintain their independence, lessen fatigue and protect against bad injuries from falls, the leading cause of injury-related death among those over 65. 

Regular exercise can reduce the risk of developing certain age-related diseases, including Alzheimer’s, cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

“It’s really remarkable how many of these different hallmarks of aging exercise can target,” says Nathan LeBrasseur, an exercise and aging researcher and director of the Robert and Arlene Kogod Center on Aging at the Mayo Clinic. 

LeBrasseur co-wrote a study in 2021 that showed a structured exercise program reduced a key marker of aging, cell senescence. Senescent cells stop dividing as they age and contribute to multiple age-related diseases."

"Federal guidelines recommend that adults get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise a week. 

A team of researchers who analyzed data on more than 650,000 adults over about a decade found that, compared with those who were inactive, those who got about half the government’s recommended physical activity added an average of 1.8 years to their lives. Those who exercised for roughly five to eight hours weekly gained an average of 4.2 years."

"Lifespan benefits persisted across age groups, and for people who were classified as overweight."

"Exercise helps fight aging in a number of ways, including by improving immune function, reducing inflammation and increasing insulin sensitivity, research has found."

"Exercise is always important, but becomes especially important after middle age when muscle mass and basal metabolic rate, or the number of calories the body naturally burns at rest, start to decline, aging researchers say.

Doctors and scientists generally recommend following the federal guidelines for time and intensity of training, including a mix of endurance and strength-training exercises. Strength training becomes especially important for people in older age, says Mayo Clinic’s LeBrasseur."

Related posts:

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Carry Your Groceries, Take the Stairs: Short, Intense Movement Can Improve Your Health (plus non drug ways to fight diabetes and Covid) (2022)

Almost half of cancer deaths globally are attributable to preventable risk factors, new study suggests (2022)

New research leads to doubt over the extent or even existence of the ego‐depletion effect (the theory of the exhaustible willpower muscle) (2019)

How lifestyle changes can reduce the risk of dementia (2019)

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Nearly half of U.S. cancer deaths blamed on unhealthy behavior (2017)

Regular Exercise: Antidote for Deadly Diseases? (2016)

Earnings Are Greater and Increasing in Occupations That Require Intellectual Tenacity

From Tyler Cowen. 

"That is the title of a new paper by Christos Makridis, Louis Hickman, and Benjamin Manning, here is the abstract:

Automation and technology are rapidly disrupting the labor market. We investigated changes in the returns to occupational personality requirements—the ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving that enable success in a given occupation—and the resulting implications for organizational strategy. Using job incumbent ratings from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Information Network (O*NET), we identify two broad occupational personality requirements, which we label intellectual tenacity and social adjustment. Intellectual tenacity encompasses achievement/effort, persistence, initiative, analytical thinking, innovation, and independence. Social adjustment encompasses emotion regulation, concern for others, social orientation, cooperation, and stress tolerance. Both occupational personality requirements relate similarly to occupational employment growth between 2007 and 2019. However, among over 10 million respondents to the American Community Survey, jobs requiring intellectual tenacity pay higher wages—even controlling for occupational cognitive ability requirements—and the earnings premium grew over this 13-year period. Results are robust to controlling for education, demographics, and industry effects, suggesting that organizations should pay at least as much attention to personality in the hiring and retention process as skills.

Of course that is very much accord with some of the claims Daniel Gross and I make in our book on talent.  Via the excellent Kevin Lewis."

Lincoln on individual rights

See Speech at Chicago, Illinois from TeachingAmericanHistory.org which is a project of the Ashbrook Center at Ashland University. Excerpts:

"I believe each individual is naturally entitled to do as he pleases with himself and the fruit of his labor, so far as it in no wise interferes with any other man’s rights"

Exercise Helps Blunt the Effects of Covid-19, Study Suggests

Physical activity benefits even those at higher risk for complications

By Alex Janin of The WSJ. Excerpts:

"People who exercise regularly had lower rates of hospitalization and death from Covid-19 in a study published recently in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 

Regular exercise improves overall health and healthier people generally have fewer serious complications with Covid-19 infections. Earlier research has shown an association between exercise and better Covid-19 outcomes. This latest study goes a step further and suggests that even people whose age or health conditions make them higher-risk have better outcomes if they are regular exercisers. 

Higher amounts of physical activity were associated with lower rates of death and hospitalizations from Covid across nearly all demographics"

"A very active 70-year-old still had a higher risk of Covid-related complications than did a similarly active 40-year-old, but the exercisers in both groups had hospitalization rates lower than those who didn’t work out."

"You don’t have to run, you don’t have to sweat, you don’t have to do anything except get up and go out for a walk"

"physical activity provides several types of protection from severe illness. Exercise improves the body’s immune response by mobilizing and redistributing immune cells that can recognize and kill infected cells"

"Without exercise, viruses have more time to replicate inside our bodies, which can result in more severe symptoms"

"Physical activity can also help reduce inflammation, the body’s natural immune response to damage or pathogens. Chronic inflammation has been linked to more severe Covid-19 outcomes, especially in the lungs. Cytokines, small messenger proteins that help regulate inflammation, are released during exercise."

"“Exercise is as effective as many of the drugs that we use and has no side effects,” says Jordan Metzl, a sports medicine physician"

Related posts:

Carry Your Groceries, Take the Stairs: Short, Intense Movement Can Improve Your Health (plus non drug ways to fight diabetes and Covid) (2022)

Almost half of cancer deaths globally are attributable to preventable risk factors, new study suggests (2022)

New research leads to doubt over the extent or even existence of the ego‐depletion effect (the theory of the exhaustible willpower muscle) (2019)

How lifestyle changes can reduce the risk of dementia (2019)

Good health begins with individual decisions (2018)

Nearly half of U.S. cancer deaths blamed on unhealthy behavior (2017)

Regular Exercise: Antidote for Deadly Diseases? (2016)