Lifestyle causes four out of 10 cancers in the US, new study finds
Smoking, bad diet and drinking alcohol are the top three triggers for the disease. Other research suggests a link between air pollution and smaller sperm, and links inflammation in middle age to dementia
About four out of 10 cancers in the United States are due to lifestyle choices – such as smoking and eating poorly – and other risks that might be avoidable.
The findings were revealed in a study by the journal CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, which calculated “the contribution of several modifiable risk factors to cancer occurrence.”
Meet the Hong Kong vegan fitness trainers who can help you transition to a plant-based life
Factors that are known to raise the risk of cancer included cigarette smoking, excess body weight, drinking alcohol, exposure to second-hand smoke, eating red or processed meats, and low fruit and vegetable consumption, said the report.
Other factors include not getting enough dietary fibre or calcium, lack of exercise, exposure to ultraviolet light and the sexually transmitted infection human papillomavirus (HPV), which can cause cervical and genital cancers as well as tumours in the head and neck region.
Researchers analysed the prevalence of these known risk factors and the extent to which they increase cancer risk, to estimate the proportion of cancers they cause.
Scientists applied these proportions to current cancer data to estimate the number of associated cases and deaths for 26 cancer types.
