Healthy Life

Still, when I heard that being at a healthy weight is a great way to lower your cancer risk, I thought, "Nothin' to sneeze at there!" Perhaps it's more than just the vanity of fitting into smaller jeans or feeling more attractive that I am driven by. But losing weight can truly make you healthier, even if I did it for other reasons (to get faster and fitter and healthier all around). I wasn't thinking about cancer! I was thinking: Ever since college, I've been growing out, not up, and it's time to reverse the process!

According to a study in The Lancet, packing on excess pounds ups your odds of getting the disease. Of course, you've probably noticed, as I certainly have, that fighting fat seems to get more and more difficult with every passing year. Part of it is that, between our jobs and families, we're all a little busier.

The other (huge) part of it is biology, plain and simple. "Beginning in our mid-40s, we lose up to a third of a pound of muscle a year and gain it back as fat," says Miriam Nelson, Ph.D., director of Tufts University John Hancock Center for Physical Activity and Nutrition in Boston. And because fat burns fewer calories than muscle, your resting metabolism slows down, so after 40, every brownie, ice cream cone and bag of chips suddenly comes with greater consequences.

The good news -- and you knew there'd be some -- is that this gradual tipping of the scales (and the subsequent upping of your cancer risk) is completely preventable through (drum roll, please) a little exercise. Key word: Little! To reduce your risk of the disease, the American Cancer Society recommends just 30 minutes of physical activity, five days a week. That's walking briskly after dinner in your neighborhood.

A high-powered spin around the block every day not only slims and tones your body, it can cut your risk of breast cancer by 30 to 40 percent. Try meeting a pal after work at the gym, rather than at the bar. Or raking the leaves yourself rather than paying the kid next door to do it.

Yes, cancer is scary, but it becomes a lot less so when you understand that there's so much you can do right now to help lower your risk and take charge of your own health destiny. For starters: Slip on your sneakers and put one foot in front of the other. Taking that first big step will make you so proud!

Try this walking workout to help lower your cancer risk.

Get more tips on what to eat, do and not do to prevent cancer at Self.com.