Exercise intensity linked to lower cancer risk: British Journal of Sports Medicine

Objective: There is lack of evidence to show the role of exercise intensity in the prevention of cancer mortality since no previous studies have shown this relation. Thus, we assessed the relationship of leisure-time physical activity with cancer mortality.

Methods: Participants were from a population-based sample of 2560 men from Eastern Finland with no history of cancer at baseline. Physical activity was assessed using the 12-Month Leisure-Time Physical Activity Questionnaire. During an average follow-up of 16.7 years, a total of 181 cancer related deaths occurred.

Results: An increase of 1.2 METs (one standard deviation in metabolic equivalents) in the mean intensity of leisure-time physical activity was related to a decrease (RR=0.85, 95 % CI 0.72 to 0.99) in cancer mortality mainly due to lung and gastrointestinal cancers, after adjustment for age, examination year, alcohol consumption, smoking, body mass index, and energy, fibre and fat intake. Men with leisure-time physical activity of more than 5.2 METs (highest quartile) had a lower (RR=0.63, 95 % CI 0.40 to 0.99) cancer mortality compared with men whose mean intensity of physical activity was less than 3.7 METs (lowest quartile). The mean intensity of physical activity was related to the risk of cancer death among men who exercised at least 30 minutes per day on average.

Conclusions: This prospective study indicates that the mean intensity of leisure-time physical activity is inversely associated with the risk of premature death from cancer in men.

Intensity of leisure-time physical activity and cancer mortality in men, British Journal of Sports Medicine, July 2009

You're doing it wrong!

I know that you two train together but do you guys really have to get scanned together? As long as the two of you weigh less than 350 lbs I suppose it can't really hurt.

Big changes for Bodycomp

It’s been a while since I have last updated the blog. I apologize to you humble internet, for we all know there is nothing more tiresome than stale information and stagnant blogs. I have an excuse. I have several actually. Bodycomp has gone though a metamorphosis of sorts. I’m actually tempted to make phoenix analogies but I’d prefer not to jinx the DXA scanner into bursting into flames, especially not while one of you fine people is laying on top of it, getting scanned.
So Bodycomp is now a full time operation with a permanent address in downtown Vancouver. I’ve taken a leave from my job as a Nuclear Medicine tech at St. Paul’s hospital to go at it alone. Ruth has stepped away from Bodycomp to focus on improving her health personally, and Jordan Savory has joined Bodycomp to assist with scanning duties on Mondays.

Having an office downtown has changed the focus of our business significantly. It is now much easier for clients that work or live downtown to schedule an appointment throughout the day. I am going to miss providing scans up at Whistler at the health fair or setting up the trailer at one of the cycling races around town. We will also be doing less research studies as we are no longer able to visit the outer reaches of the Metro region.
However, I believe change happens for a reason. I’m looking forward to meeting more of the incredible athletes that train downtown and am also happy to meet their trainers, coaches and support staff. Vancouver is at a very exciting time is it’s existence, and I’m very happy to building Bodycomp with so many complimentary activities happening all around. I look forward to seeing you soon

Richmond Oval is incredible

I'm a little late to the party but that's fine by me. I had my first look at the new Richmond Oval yesterday and am blown away by the scale and style of the building.

I had read about the use of pine beetle damaged wood in the construction, but I didn't expect it to be so visually stunning. Wiki says it better than I can:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richmond_Olympic_Oval

Global TV has Bodycomp doing the body composition scans for their lifestyle challenge so we were scanning the second half of the participants. The first piece should air on Global on Feb 23rd. The second scan and change in muscle and fat measurements will come in June.

Get your Crossfit on!

Bodycomp has been busy lately with Crossfit body composition challenges. Although your percent fat and muscle mass are not the only measurements of fitness and athletic performance, they definitely play a big role. We all require a certain amount of fat to stay healthy and perform well, but excess fat above the essential levels mostly just slows you down and elevates your risk of disease. This is why we are happy to be involved with Crossfit Bodycomp challenges.

We are going to be performing follow-up scans on 75 fitness keeners at Crossfit.ca (clark & 2nd ave, Vancouver) from December 6th-9th with prizes going to those individuals with the highest percent gain of muscle and also to those with the best percent reduction in body fat.

We also have a January challenge starting with the fine folks at Crossfit BC Yaletown. This challenge will be in a similar format but with 6 months between the baseline and the final scan. This will allow for some more dramatic transformations and prevent people from trying to beat the contest with short term changes. Good body composition requires regular visits to the gym and a consistent diet. We'll be getting started in Yaletown in early january - check in at crossfitbc.com for all the details.

Street racing Vancouver style

This is really more of a rave than a post. This Canada Day I spent my third year in a row at the Yaletown Grand Prix. It’s a criterium racing event that has teams of amazing cyclists using strategy and pure power ripping around an historic section of the downtown core. The event is primarily sponsored by Haywood Securities but there are beer gardens and Mini Coopers a plenty and the entire area around the track has a street party vibe to it.

I think this is the sort of event that Vancouver is going to become more and more famous for. It brings out our best collective behavior cheering on racers in a sport most of us don’t know nearly as much about as hockey, however, Vancouver breeds an incredibly diverse and skilled group of cyclists, not to mention a pretty wild unicyclist as well. The whole event also managed to raise a significant bit of coin for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Vancouver.

The Men’s race was dominated by team Symmetrics with Svein Tuft of Langley taking the first pass over the finish line. The Women’s cat 1/2/3 had a much wider spread among the teams, with Total Restoration Cycling’s Gillian Moody taking first place for the women. Now I’m not saying that we should all abandon the road hockey completely when we’re celebrating the birthday of our country in the sunshine, but I think the Yaletown Grandprix Canada bash is a pretty sweet option for us high density dwellers.

So if you didn't have a chance to make it this year, come and take a look for us next year and see how your body composition stacks up against some of Canada's finest.

Google Maps Pedometer lets you measure your walks runs and rollerblade sessions

I've been playing with the Google Maps Pedometer mash-up a fair bit lately. It allows you to use a google maps interface to track the distance of your walks and other urban treks to get an idea of how far that afternoon jaunt really was. It's also useful for runners in training trying to find new routes that allow them to cover a specific distance. You can find the page here:

www.gmap-pedometer.com

The page also lets you save your work and share the results with other people. You can take a look at my rollerblading route from my apartment downtown, down Georgia Street and into Stanley Park and then back up from English Bay for a sweaty spin up the Hornby Street hill.

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=1971257

Feel free to post your favourite Vancouver route in the comments.