Moderate physical exercises can help reduce the risk of cancers such as breast cancer and colon cancer, the World Health Organization said on the World Cancer Day Friday.
In a report, WHO recommended moderate intensity aerobic physical activities of at least 150 minutes a week, for all people aged 18 and over, which has proven effective in bring down risks to noncommunicable diseases (NCDs).
For the 5 to 17-age group, the WHO said at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous intensity physical activities can serve to prevent such diseases from building-up.
"Physical activity has a strong role to play in reducing the incidence of certain cancers," said Ala Alwan, WHO assistant director-general for Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health.
"Physical inactivity is the fourth leading risk factor for all global deaths, with 31 percent of the world's population not physically active," he added.
WHO said physical inactivity is in close relation with cancers and other NCDs, such as cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, and worldwide, it is associated with 3.2 million deaths per year.
The situation is particularly alarming in low- and middle-income countries, which suffered 2.6 million cases of death, a majority of the world's total, said the report.
The World Cancer Day was introduced in 2005 by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC), which takes place each year on Feb. 4. Preventing cancer and raising quality of life for cancer patients are recurring themes.
Cancer is a leading cause of death around the world. WHO estimates, without intervention, 84 million people will die of cancer between 2005 and 2015.
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