Physical activity, alcohol consumption, and digestive system cancer risk: a large prospective cohort study

Whether physical activity could modify the association between alcohol consumption and digestive system cancer (DSC) is still unclear. The primary aim of a study published in the journal Nutrition Prescision was to evaluate the independent and joint effects of physical activity in various intensities and alcohol consumption on DSC risk.
A total of 305,699 participants free of cancer at baseline in the UK Biobank were included in this study. Physical activities, including total physical activity, vigorous physical activity, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, moderate physical activity, walking and leisure-time physical activity, were self-reported at baseline. Total alcohol consumption was divided into four categories, including non-consumption, “safe” consumption (1–22 units/week for males and 1–15 units/week for females), “hazardous” consumption (22–49 units/week for males, and 15–35 units/week for females), and “harmful” consumption (>49 units/week for males, and >35 units/week for females), adapted from the UK guidelines. Multivariate Cox regression models were used to evaluate the independent and joint associations between physical activity, alcohol consumption, and outcomes (DSC, digestive tract cancer, and digestive accessory organ cancer).
Except walking, higher levels of physical activities were associated with a lower risk of DSC. The inverse associations were more evident for vigorous physical activity (hazards ratio [HR] = 0.90 [95% confidence interval {CI} = 0.84–0.95]) and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (HR = 0.86 [95% CI = 0.81–0.92]) than total physical activity, moderate physical activity, and walking and leisure-time physical activity. No additive or multiplicative interactions between physical activity and alcohol consumption on DSC risk were detected. When stratified by physical activity, harmful drinking was consistently associated with increased DSC risk. Similar trends were found for digestive tract cancer and digestive accessory organ cancer.
Physical activity, especially VPA and MVPA, was inversely associated with DSC risk. However, a high level of PA could not counteract the detrimental effect of alcohol consumption on DSC risk. These results support current recommendations about alcohol cessation even in physically active individuals.
Source: Wang, Weiqi; Wang, Qiaoyu; Liu, Lin; Song, Qingrao; Chen, Yaxin; Hou, Wanying; Sun, Changhao. Physical activity, alcohol consumption, and digestive system cancer risk: a large prospective cohort study. Precision Nutrition 5(1):p e00123, March 2026.