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Exercise lowers but doesn't eliminate risk of lung cancer

Respiratory Care Weekly, December 13, 2006

Physically fit smokers delude themselves when they think that if they just exercise, they can enjoy smoking without the cancer risks that come with it, according to a study in the December issue of Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention. The reduction of risk is substantial-to the tune of a 65% reduction in cancer risk among women smokers who exercise moderately-but that still leaves a total risk substantially higher among smokers and former smokers than in nonsmokers.

"The most important thing a smoker can do to reduce risk is to quit smoking. That said, exercising and being active can offer a marginal change in risk," said the study's lead author, Kathryn Schmitz, PhD, an assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania. "If you smoke at all, your risk of developing lung cancer is 10- to 11-fold higher than if you didn't smoke."

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