Physical Activity, Diet, and Risk of Colon Cancer in Utah

Abstract

A population-based case-control study was used to assess the relations of physical activity and diet to the development of colon cancer in Utah. Data were obtained for a reference period of two years prior to interview for controls (204 females and 180 males) and two years prior to the date of diagnosis for cases (119 females and 110 males). Both leisure time and occupational activities were ascertained by level of intensity and were converted to calories expended per week for analysis. Dietary data were obtained from a quantitative food frequency questionnaire. Physical activity and dietary data were divided into quartiles based upon the distribution in the study population for analyses. Total physical activity was protective against the development of colon cancer for both males (odds ratio (OR) = 0.70) and females (OR = 0.48) when high and low quartiles of activity were compared. Intense physical activity was the component of activity that had the greatest protective effect for males (OR = 0.27); a similar relation was seen for females (OR = 0.55). The observed relation between physical activity and colon cancer was not confounded by dietary intake of calories, fat, or protein, nor was the diet and colon cancer relation confounded by physical activity (odds ratios for calories, protein, and fat in males were 2.40, 2.57, and 2.18, respectively). Assessment of the interrelations among physical activity, diet, and colon cancer suggests that physical activity modifies colon cancer risk associated with diet.

Glycemic index in chronic disease: a review

“…The main carbohydrate classes studied are starch (or polysaccharides) and sugar. Epidemiological observations report a direct association between starch or polysaccharide intake and colorectal cancer although some did not achieve statistical significance (Tuyns et al, 1987;Haenszel et al, 1980;Slattery et al, 1988;Zaridze et al, 1993;Franceschi et al, 1998;Macquart-Moulin et al, 1986). However, when the end point was colorectal adenomatous polyp, a precursor of colorectal cancer, high carbohydrate intake resulted in a lower risk in both cohort (Giovannucci et al, 1992) and case -control studies (Hoff et al, 1986;MacquartMoulin et al, 1987;Benito et al, 1993;Neugut et al, 1993;Sandler et al, 1993).…”

Socioeconomic status and colon cancer incidence: a prospective cohort study

“…Lifestyle variables that have been identified as possible risk factors for colon cancer, e.g. dietary factors such as fat, fibre or energy intake (Freudenheim and Graham, 1989;Willett, 1989), alcohol consumption (Kune and Vitetta, 1992), physical activity (Gerhardsson et al, 1988;Slattery et al, 1988) or reproductive factors (Kravdal et al, 1993), are all characteristics associated with SES (Noppa and Bengtsson, 1980;Baghurst et al, 1990;Jacobsen and Lund, 1990;Hulshof et al, 1991). Therefore we examined the association between SES and colon cancer incidence and the influence of various lifestyle factors such as Quetelet index, alcohol consumption, large bowel cancer in the family, physical activity and reproductive factors (the last for women only) in a prospective cohort study on diet, other lifestyle variables and cancer risk.…”

Physical Activity as Primary Prevention to Address Cancer Disparities

“…[12][13][14] Regular PA has been associated with lower cancer incidence ranging from 10% to 50% across many types, including breast, 15-22 colon, [22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33] endometrial, 34-37 and lung cancers. 34,[38][39][40] While it is difficult in most epidemiologic studies to disentangle the contributions of sedentariness and obesity to cancer risk, PA clearly exerts its protective influence both directly (for example, by decreasing gastrointestinal transit time, consuming calories needed for tumor growth, improving immune system functioning, and/or postponing pubertal development 41 ) and indirectly (by decreasing fat stores, favorably altering fat distribution, and preventing weight gain).…”