Exercise can undo the harm caused by excessive drinking

For example, the biological pathways through which cancer formation begins (carcinogenesis) are similar to those by which physical activity may prevent cancer.

The study’s findings show that the risk of death from all causes was weaker among those who met the weekly guidelines for exercise, but surprisingly, the risk of dying from cancer was nearly erased among those regular exercisers.

Stamatakis’ colleagues helped him gathered data from health surveys conducted in England and Scotland, They grouped the people who participated in the study.

Matt Field, professor of psychology at Liverpool University, said the “rigorous piece of research” showed that “it appears that physical activity may partially offset some of the harmful effects of drinking, particularly alcohol-attributable cancers”.

Of them, 4,845 people drank more than recommended weekly alcohol limits – 14 drinks for women and 21 for men. Then the researchers grouped the study participants – 36,370 people, all 40 years of age or older – into three categories: people who are not very active, those who do a moderate amount of exercising, and those who do the most.

However, experts have added that it is hard to know if people were accurate in their estimations of alcohol intake and exercise, and whether the changes in risk patterns were truly attributed to exercise.

Around 15% of the survey participants were either lifelong abstainers or former drinkers while roughly 13% said they exceeded the former recommended weekly maximum.

Physical activity was defined as “walking for any purpose” plus “formal exercise and sport”.

Around a quarter of respondents said they did no physical activity at all, and just over 60 per cent did not achieve 7.5 MET/hour a week, which corresponds to 150 minutes of moderate intensity.

During a follow-up period of almost 10 years, researchers noted 5,735 deaths. A recent review strongly linked alcohol to multiple types of cancer. “Occasional drinkers” were found to have a slightly lower risk of death from all causes, but not from cancer. This finding suggested a “J-shaped curve”, explain the researchers.

The researchers found that the chance of developing cancer and dying early rose steadily as people consumed more alcohol. But when subjects met the British recommendations for exercise (2.5 hours of physical activity per week) those risks were substantially reduced. But risk of death from either cancer or all causes rose more slowly among those meeting exercise guidelines compared to those who engaged in less physical activity.