Diet and exercise can reduce cancer rates by 33%
A report prepared by the World Cancer Research Fund (Worldwide Fund for Research against Cancer) and the American Institute for Cancer Research (American Institute for Research on Cancer), analyzed the impact of 12 types cancer in the United States, Great Britain, Brazil and China.
About 33% of these cancers could be prevented through better nutrition, increased physical activity and improved controls of obesity, the report said.
This figure does not include the benefits of the fight against cancer by quitting smoking. Tobacco use alone accounts for about 33% of cancers.
“Globally, each year there are millions of cases of cancer and that is why we need to act now, before the situation becomes even worse,” said the report’s lead author, Martin Wiseman.
“We expect a significant increase in cancer rates, with the aging population, skyrocketing rates of obesity and people with less and less active who consume foods and beverages more highly processed and high-energy, “he says.
“The good news is that this is not inevitable and we still have the chance to avoid a crisis before it’s too late,” he said.
The report entitled “Agenda for Policy and Cancer Prevention (Policy and Action for the Prevention of Cancer), made over 40 recommendations, written by 23 leading experts on the topic of cancer.
The report includes advice such as schools and workplaces reject unhealthy foods from their vending machines, or that governments encourage bicycle and pedestrian paths dedicated to promoting physical exercise.
For the record, 12 million new cases of cancer were diagnosed worldwide in 2008, resulting in 7.6 million deaths.
There could be 20 million new cancer cases each year, and 13 million deaths, around 2030.
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