Get out there and run. And put some energy into it!

Men who exercise vigorously for at least 30 minutes a day are far less likely to ever develop cancer, according to a study from researchers at the universities of Kuopio and Oulu in Finland. Why? The key factor in lowering the risk of cancer is a higher rate of oxygen consumption, reports Agence France Presse.

The study: For one year, the researchers studied the leisure time activity of 2,560 men between the ages of 41 and 61 years old, none of whom had a history of cancer. Sixteen years later, 181 of the men had died from cancer, primarily from cancer of the stomach, intestines, lungs, prostate and brain.

The results: Using an intensity scale for physical exercise that measured "metabolic units" of oxygen consumption, the scientists found that the men who exercised for at least 30 minutes a day were half as likely to get cancer as those who did not, reports AFP.

Exercise appears to offer the greatest protection from gastrointenstinal and lung cancers, and this held true even when other factors, such as age, alcohol consumption, smoking and weight, were considered. "The intensity of leisure-time physical activity should be at least moderate so that beneficial effect ... for reducing overall cancer mortality can be achieved," the researchers conclude.

The study findings were reported in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

--From the Editors at Netscape

Diet can help too. Click here to see which superfoods have been shown to reduce the risk of cancer.