Cancer Experts Recommend Counting Steps For Prevention

American Institute for Cancer Research
Thursday, 18 April 2002

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Why would an institute dedicated to fostering cancer research promote the use of pedometers to its nine million supporters? Because the pedometer makes you move, moving is a good antidote for overweight and obesity, and obesity increases risk of cancer in at least seven sites.

A pedometer is a tiny, electronic gadget, which when fastened to your belt counts your steps. Set it at zero in the morning, and by the time you go to bed, it will tell you how many steps you took all day.

"People who use a pedometer often become obsessed with counting their steps," says Jeff Prince, AICR Vice President for Education. "In a sedentary society, that can be a healthy kind of obsession."

The Institute gave a pedometer to a 74-year-old grandmother, who discovered she was doing around 2,000 steps a day. In an attempt to raise her total, she strapped on a walkman and began pacing the L-shaped hall in her apartment building. Gradually she brought her total up to 3,000 per day.

A 55-year-old attorney started walking from the suburban train to his office each day after buying a pedometer. He is now thinking of taking up jogging again to bring his total up at least as high as his wife's.

A 42-year-old suburban mother found she was doing about 8,000 steps during her daily routine. To bring herself up to 10,000 a day, she began walking her daughter to school rather than driving her. That means she did the trip four times per day five days a week. Her total rose to 12,000 steps on weekdays, which she is maintaining. The morning and afternoon walk are a bonus for the daughter, too, since inactivity is rampant among youngsters and childhood obesity has reached epidemic proportions.

Many experts recommend a goal of 10,000 steps per day. But researchers at AICR emphasize the importance of gradually increasing activity from whatever level you are currently at to whatever level health and stamina will allow.

"Americans overeat and under-move," Dr. Elio Riboli of the International Agency for Research on Cancer recently commented at an AICR press conference. "That's why they are at risk for obesity."

For most people, maintaining a healthy weight involves reducing energy intake and increasing energy expenditure. That's why AICR recommends smaller portion sizes and greater physical activity as a means of preventing and often reversing overweight and obesity. "Because portions in restaurants and at home have grown so large over the past two decades in this country, gradually reducing their size without feeling hunger should be relatively easy for most people," Prince commented.

But getting Americans to move may prove more difficult. "In the past 200 years, our daily existence has been re-engineered for convenience. We have to teach people to stop saving steps, and that's where the pedometer comes in. It encourages taking the stairs instead of the elevator, walking to the store instead of driving and taking a stroll instead of having a snack at mid-afternoon."

A review of current scientific literature conducted by AICR last winter showed that obesity and possibly overweight are associated with greater cancer risk. In particular, obesity has been linked to breast cancer in post-menopausal women, colorectal cancer, prostate cancer, pancreatic cancer, endometrial cancer, kidney cancer and possibly ovarian cancer.

In addition, research has begun to reveal that the simple act of exercising itself confers its own protection. Getting regular physical activity has been shown to make the body better able to regulate insulin, metabolic hormones and other "growth factors" that have been linked to cancer development.

In fact, one recent study in the American Journal of Epidemiology involving over 2,000 women found that those subjects who reported the highest level of lifetime physical activity had a 30 percent lower risk of breast cancer than subjects who reported the least activity. Another study in the British Journal of Cancer followed 7,588 middle-aged men for 19 years and found that men who engaged in regular, vigorous exercise had a 35 percent lower risk of cancer than inactive men.

The scientific jury is still out on precisely how much exercise is required to see the greatest benefit, but one thing is clear: Every little bit helps.

For more information, or to contact American Institute for Cancer Research, see their website at: www.aicr.org