Hate to say I  told you so, but really, we’re starting to get some pretty compelling evidence on the benefits of exercise. Check this out: A new study, published online July 28, 2009 in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, has found that “men who exercised for at least 30 minutes a day at moderate to high intensity halved their risk of dying prematurely from cancer, mainly gastrointestinal and lung cancer.”

In the study, 2560 men were followed for a year to see what sort of exercise they did, and they were then followed for an average of 16 years (that is, a LOT of people for a LONG time) and they found that “the mean intensity of leisure-time physical activity is inversely associated with the risk of premature death from cancer in men“.

What does that mean? Well, in a nutshell, “moderate-high intensity physical activity is more beneficial than low-intensity physical activity in the prevention of cancer”. Men who exercised at 4 MET’s or higher had a 50% reduction in the risk of dying prematurely from cancer.

What’s a MET you ask? Don’t worry, I had to ask too.

jogging was 10.1 MET, of skiing was 9.6 MET, of ball games was 6.7 MET, of swimming was 5.4 MET, of rowing was 5.4 MET, of cycling was 5.1 MET, of gardening/farming/yard work was 4.3 MET, and of walking was 4.2 MET.

Also of interest: hunting, picking berries or gathering mushrooms (3.6 MET), and fishing (2.4 MET).

Add reduced risk of dying from cancer to the list of things exercise helps with, such as immune function http://www.chrisjonesosteo.com.au/?p=193, falls in older people http://www.chrisjonesosteo.com.au/?p=127, bone mineral density/osteoporosis http://www.chrisjonesosteo.com.au/?p=97, fat burning http://thegoodhealthjournal.com/?p=28, and cardiovascular disease http://thegoodhealthjournal.com/?p=14.