According to the Cancer Research Institute of Great Britain, 4 in 10 cancers are due to our lifestyle choices and could be avoided if we took a little more care of our health. And British scientists are deliberately choosing this end of year period to sound the alarm: they hope to encourage their fellow citizens to make good resolutions at the start of the year. And especially those to quit smoking and of eat healthier. Smoking and being overweight are, in fact, the two main risk factors for cancer, followed by alcohol consumption and physical inactivity.
300,000 tobacco-related cancers between 2007 and 2011
According to figures from the Cancer Research Institute on the number of cancers recorded in Great Britain between 2007 and 2011, more than 300,000 cases were directly linked to smoking, 145,000 to a diet too rich in processed foods, 88000 would be due to obesity and 62,000 to alcohol. “Physical inactivity and too much exposure to UV rays were also responsible for a large number of cancers” underlines Professor Max Parkin, statistician for the Institute and professor at Queen Mary University in London. “There is no longer any doubt: certain lifestyle choices can have a big impact on cancer risk. Of course, living a healthy lifestyle does not guarantee that you will not get cancer but you simply put more chances on your side by quitting smoking or participating in physical activity “.
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