Strenuous exercise for just half an hour a day can reduce a person's risk of dying from cancer, says a new study.

Jogging, swimming, rowing and games like squash or football all lead to a lower risk of developing cancer and dying from it.

However, the study found people must exercise for at least 30 minutes a day to gain any benefit, reports The Daily Express.

The study's boffins, from the universities of Kuopio and Oulu in Finland, believe that vigorous physical activity is best for lowering the risk of cancer, and particularly of lung and gastrointestinal cancers.

They say: "The intensity of leisure-time physical activity had a strong and independent association with cancer mortality.

It should be at least moderate so the beneficial effect of physical activity for reducing overall cancer mortality can be achieved."

To reach the conclusion, researchers followed 2,560 men aged from 42 to 61 from eastern Finland with no history of cancer and tested them to measure the intensity of their exercise.