Extra exercise can lower cancer, heart disease

A recent study has revealed that exercising more than the recommended level can drastically lower a person's risk of five serious diseases, including breast and bowel cancer, diabetes, heart disease and stroke.

According to the WHO, an individual must do at least "600 metabolic equivalent minutes (MET minutes)" of physical activity that is equivalent of "150 minutes each week of brisk walking or 75 minutes per week of running," reports The Independent.

Based on 174 studies published between 1980 and 2016 which looked at the associations between total physical activity and at least one of the diseases, researchers from the US and Australia tried examining how much increase in regular level can reduce one's risk of the five common chronic diseases.

The study found that most health gains occurred when the people conducted 3,000 to 4,000 (MET) minutes of exercise per week. It can be achieved by climbing the stairs for 10 minutes, vacuuming for 15 minutes, gardening for 20 minutes, running for 20 minutes, and walking or cycling for transportation 25 minutes on a daily basis.

The author wrote, "The findings of this study showed that a higher level of total physical activity is strongly associated with a lower risk of breast cancer, colon cancer, diabetes, ischemic heart disease, and ischemic stroke, with most health gains occurring at a total activity level of 3000-4000 MET minutes/week.