Big Way Of Life

An extensive new report has highlighted the way in which lifestyle factors can influence a range of cancers. The report, carried out by Professor Parkin from the Centre for Cancer Prevention at the Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine, found that in 2010, around 43% of cancer cases seen in the UK were caused by lifestyle and environmental factors. This equated to around 134,000 cancers caused by potentially avoidable behaviours such as smoking, drinking alcohol and eating a poor diet.

Tobacco smoking was the biggest risk factor for cancer, responsible for over 19% of all new cases. Other factors included being overweight (5.5% of cases), having a poor diet (9.2%) and drinking too much alcohol (4%).

"Many people believe cancer is down to fate or 'in the genes' and that it is the luck of the draw whether they get it," said Professor Max Parkin, an epidemiologist at Queen Mary University of London. "Looking at all the evidence it's clear that around 40% of all cancers are caused by things we mostly have the power to change."

This new study of the link between cancer and lifestyle is one of the most comprehensive undertaken to date. Undertaking these lifestyle changes could also have a positive impact on other major diseases such as heart disease, stroke and diabetes.