An evening jog may improve prostate health: study

Everyone knows that eating a balanced diet and taking regular exercise are good for you, but new studies show that lifestyle choices play an important role in men's health.

Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) have managed to identify 200 genes in individuals with low-grade prostate cancer that reveal why going for an evening jog may boost your chances of survival.

"Vigorous physical activity may provide clinical benefits for men diagnosed with earlier stage prostate cancer," said the papers senior author June Chan.

"The finding suggests some interesting leads on mechanisms by which physical activity may protect against prostate cancer progression."

But in addition to helping those already facing a tough diagnosis Ms Chan believes that the research findings will play an important role in cancer prevention, as well as encourage men to take better care of their prostate health.

In order to draw conclusions about the influence genes have on the prostate Ms Chan worked closely with highly ranked research professionals and took biopsies from numerous patients, it was later found that certain recovery patterns would appear in individuals who conducted some form of vigorous exercise such as brisk walking or jogging.

Posted by Andy Rowe