The Tribune

Next time someone asks you to go for a walk or get up and dance, jump at the chance. The simple act of moving may take you steps closer to avoiding cancers associated with sedentary lifestyles and obesity.

So say doctors and medical researchers whose findings are increasingly pointing toward habit over heritage. 

Though questions about the specifics linger, there is a growing body of evidence that as obesity rates climb among a younger population, so too do the cases of colon cancer. Those increases, though small, are particularly alarming because they contrast with a dramatic decrease in the rates among the over 50 population. Given the trend, there is also growing consensus about the importance of screening, early detection and removal of pre-cancerous polyps – the latter, a shift from earlier recommendations.

“Up to 85 per cent of colorectal cancers could be prevented or successfully treated if everyone who is eligible for a colonoscopy got screened,” said a spokesman from Cleveland Clinic in Weston, Florida, a facility that performs some 6,000 colonoscopies a year.

According to the Cleveland Clinic Florida, screening helps detect pre-cancerous polyps and the removal of those can reduce the risk of getting colon cancer by 70 per cent.

They also say screening after middle age is critical given that 91 per cent of the new colon cancer cases occur in patients 50 and older.

With March designated as Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, a local doctor is also urging patients to reduce or eliminate the red meat or processed meats, limit their intake of alcohol, increase their exercise and move around even if at a desk job.

“Stand up and walk around the office at least once an hour,” said Dr Arlington Lightbourne, founder of the Wellness Clinic in Nassau.

“Sitting is the new smoking, and if there is one thing I could tell all my patients to improve overall health, it would be to exercise more. There are far too many cases of cancer that are presenting at an early age as we become a more sedentary population with young children spending their time moving fingers while sitting and texting and people of all ages addicted to electronic devices.”  

The simple act of moving may take you steps closer to avoiding cancers, like colorectal cancer, associated with obesity and sedentary lifestyles. According to Cleveland Clinic Florida, screening also can reduce the risk of getting colon cancer by 70 per cent.