Active lifestyle may lower risk of cancer: Study

Physically active people are less likely than sedentary types to develop cancer, a research group led by the Japanese health ministry announced yesterday.

Men in the most active group of people surveyed had 13 percent less risk of developing cancer compared with the least active group, and women in the most active group had a 16 percent lower risk than their sedentary counterparts.

"There has been a lot of research done in the past on the relationship between leisure and development of cancer in the West," said Dr Manami Inoue, section chief of the National Cancer Centre.