Early last month there was a flurry of news coverage regarding a US study – published in the journal Science – which stated that most cancers occur through bad luck, not our genes or lifestyle choices. But we know that an active and healthy lifestyle significantly reduces the risk of developing cancer, as well as a host of other chronic diseases. Making the decision to be more active and improve our eating habits may not be a guarantee against cancer, but it certainly improves the odds in our favour.

Cancer Research UK came out strongly to counter the claims, saying four out of 10 cases of cancer could be prevented by making key lifestyle changes. Another study published by the charity over Christmas showed a lack of exercise was associated with 16,000 cases of cancer, while maintaining a healthy weight could have prevented 88,000 cases.

Macmillan Cancer has also identified that cancer survivors can reduce their risk of cancer-specific death and recurrence by up to 50 per cent by staying active. Meanwhile, Breakthrough Breast Cancer estimates that women can reduce their risk of developing breast cancer by at least 20 per cent through regular physical activity.

Where there is evidence that some cancers could be a result of ‘bad luck’, it’s still clear that a physically active lifestyle will not only reduce your risk of certain cancers, but will also make you much less likely to develop other chronic health conditions. So let’s focus on getting more active, improving our health, and not leaving something so important down to luck.

I read with interest the letter from Rory McGown, where he seeks to argue for the primacy of equipment availability over quality of member interaction (see HCM NovDec 14, p14). Both are integral elements ofa successful gym operation.

I think Rory’s work with GYMetrix is excellent, but I disagree with him perpetuating the (I think mid-market operator conceived) myth that budget gyms are defined by the removal of gym staff. It’s true that during the very quiet hours of our 24-hour operation we operate with minimum staffing, but during the times when traditional gyms are operating, we are staffed. More importantly, each of our gyms is staffed at any particular time with at least as many – and in many cases more – REPS Level 3 qualified staff than the vast majority of other facilities, however much more they charge their members.

The Gym Group exists because of the passion our team has for helping people achieve their fitness goals. We think we’ll be more successful if we marry equipment availability with high quality member engagement.