Brisk walking to 10,000 steps: Scientist reveals the best walking styles to lower cancer risk

As the world increasingly grows sedentary, walking is the easiest and most effective way to stay active, release stress, and maintain mental sanity. While walking in any form has some benefit or another, tweaking your walking style to match your age or requirement may bring more benefits. For instance, backward walking is considered beneficial for cognitive health, brisk walking can do wonders for your heart health. Certain walking styles can lower the cancer risk, according to University of Oxford researchers.

Cancer cases in young people are growing and most of them are linked to lifestyle factors. Being sedentary itself may increase risk of several cancers including colon, endometrial, and lung cancer, according to National Institutes of Health.

It's no surprise that being active and increasing your step count can reverse cancer risk.

Multiple studies in the past have proved that regular physical activity can reduce the risk of cancer. In the new study, scientists highlight the wonderful benefits of walking for reducing the risk of 13 different types of cancer and also suggest the kind of walking that can help bring down the risk further.

The study involved over 85,000 people in the UK, and found that the more steps you take each day, the lower your chances of developing up to 13 different types of cancer.

The activity of the participants was monitored using activity trackers, where the amount and intensity of the movement were measured. The participants were followed up six years later, and it was clear that more steps lowered cancer risk, regardless of the pace of walking.

10,000 steps: The ideal way to reduce cancer risk
The researchers explained that the benefits started at around 5,000 steps a day. Lesser steps than these didn't offer much protection. Increasing the step count to 11,000 dropped the risk of developing cancer by 11%. When the step count was increased to 9,000 steps, it dropped by 16%. Beyond 9,000 steps, however, the benefits didn't increase further and the difference in risk reduction became marginal, and varied slightly between men and women.

These findings support the popular recommendation of aiming for 10,000 steps a day – not just for general health, but potentially for cancer prevention too.

Brisk walking
Scientists also analysed if the speed of walking was connected to reduced cancer risk and found that brisk walking indeed lowered the risk but when the total physical activity was taken into account, the speed of walking no longer made a significant difference. It was concluded that the total amount of walking matters and not the pace.

Light activity
Prolonged sitting could significantly increase risk of chronic diseases, including cancer risk. Scientists found that replacing sitting with either light or moderate activity could lower cancer risk. However, swapping light activity for moderate activity didn't accrue additional benefits, as per the study.

Increasing your physical activity levels could reduce the risk of six cancers - gastric, bladder, liver, endometrial, lung and head and neck.

The researchers considered the 13 specific cancers, including oesophageal, liver, lung, kidney, gastric, endometrial, myeloid leukaemia, myeloma, colon, head and neck, rectal, bladder and breast.

In the six-year study period, around 3% of participants developed one of these cancers. The most common were colon, rectal, and lung cancers in men, and breast, colon, endometrial, and lung cancers in women.

"Walking just two miles a day – roughly 4,000 steps, or about 40 minutes of light walking – could make a significant impact on your long-term health. You don't have to do it all at once either. Break it up throughout the day by: taking the stairs instead of the lift; having a stroll at lunchtime; walking during phone calls; parking a bit further away from your destination," said Mhairi A Morris, Cancer educator & Biochemistry Senior Lecturer at Loughborough University, in a piece for The Conversation.
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