Professor of Exercise Physiology Examines Weight Control and Physical Activity in Cancer-Risk Reduction

By Leigh DuPuy

Current statistics reveal a grim reality about our ability to achieve and maintain a healthy body weight. About 63 percent of Americans are currently overweight or obese, and Massachusetts' residents are following the latest trend. Nearly six out of ten adults in the Commonwealth are above a healthy body weight. Nearly one in four are 30 pounds above an ideal weight and considered obese. And it's not just about how our waists look in our favorite pants; being overweight predisposes more than 100 million Americans to a host of chronic diseases and conditions. Of particular concern is the growing number of overweight children and adolescents, which has more than doubled in the past 10 years alone.

Studying the relationship between physical fitness and one's health, weight, and disease control is the crux of Kyle McInnis's groundbreaking work in exercise physiology. "In the United States alone, approximately 300,000 deaths each year are attributed to a combination of dietary factors and physical inactivity - the two primary culprits of obesity - making these lifestyle habits second only to cigarette smoking as the leading cause of death," says McInnis, professor in the College of Nursing and Health Sciences.

In one of his latest projects, McInnis is researching how physical fitness and a healthy diet can impact cancer prevention. "While overweight and insufficient physical activity are clearly associated with cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and a host of other conditions, conclusive scientific evidence is also accumulating that these lifestyle factors greatly increase cancer risk, particularly in the colon, breast and endometrium," he says.

McInnis has received $150,000 from the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center for a two-year research study to investigate weight-control, physical activity, and cancer-risk reduction among women living in urban areas. Professor McInnis has teamed up with researchers from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard School of Public Health to focus on how lifestyle changes can promote increased exercise participation, improved eating habits, and weight loss in overweight women in urban settings.

Why this segment of the population? "Unhealthy weight and sedentary lifestyle, and the chronic diseases associated with these habits, are particularly prevalent in those with lower socioeconomic levels and in some racial ethnic minorities," says McInnis. Like cardiovascular disease, such disparities in cancer risk are highly related to lifestyle, social, or cultural factors, making this disease highly preventable.

The study that is now under way is part of a growing collaboration between the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and UMass Boston.

McInnis is also unveiling a landmark study on the benefits of walking for weight control at the prestigious American Heart Association (AHA) Scientific Sessions in November. Embargoed until the meeting date, the study was one of two chosen from over 4,000 research presentations to be featured for a major national and international news release at the AHA meeting, which is attended by more than 30,000 cardiologists and cardiovascular specialists. It is expected that the video news release, which was taped on the UMass Boston campus in early October, will be aired on a large number of TV news programs across the United States and will be seen by an estimated 25 million people.

"Professor McInnis has hit a grand slam for UMass Boston," praised Chancellor Jo Ann Gora. "His work promotes all three r's for the university - research, recognition, and reputation."

His latest study examines the impact of self-paced walking on the health of people who are overweight. "Only about 15 percent of adults in the United States regularly engage in the modest amount of activity required to obtain health benefits," says McInnis.

More information on this study and clips of the national video news release will be available on the UMass Boston home page after November 8.

Image: Kyle McInnis, professor in the Department of Exercise Science and Physical Education, is collaborating with researchers at the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center on a study evaluating how lifestyle changes affect cancer risk in urban women. (Photo by Harry Brett)

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