Simple changes can aid cancer prevention
A disease process like cancer doesn't just happen overnight. It's generally years in the making before it presents as a full-blown disease.
American and British researchers collaborated on a report in which they analyzed over 7,000 studies from all over the world. Their goal was to look at the long-term influences that can contribute specifically to cancer, and then offer advice on prevention based on their findings.
One study author noted that this look at influencing factors over the long-term is a "life course approach." That's a little different than the typical treat-the-symptom approach, which does nothing to stave off disease in the first place.
The research group found a consistent theme: the best way to cut your cancer risk is to cut those extra calories, eat nutrient-rich foods and get daily exercise. They included these in their list of ten recommendations, which also included advice such as having women breastfeed—which offers protection for both mother and child against future cancers.
Changes in just lifestyle habits alone could prevent a third of the cancers that are currently diagnosed. I've even seen some estimates that go up to almost two- thirds of all cancers being preventable.
If you're carrying extra weight, it's not sitting there idle. It's still active tissue that is busily producing substances known to influence hormones and promote the cellular changes that can lead to cancer. The report confirmed a link between carrying excess fat on your body and multiple cancers, including but not limited to esophageal, colon, pancreatic and rectal cancer.
One researcher observed that obesity is expected to surpass smoking as the leading preventable cause of death, meaning we're now literally eating ourselves to death.
If you haven't been diagnosed with cancer, it's not too late to begin making some healthy adjustments to your lifestyle. Even if you have had cancer in the past, you can help prevent a recurrence by incorporating these very same changes— and staving off new threats to your health.
And it appears that more and more of us could stand to heed this advice the world over. According to another recent study published in the journal of the American Heart Association, a quarter of men and women in over 60 countries surveyed are considered obese. Adding to those numbers are those who fall into the overweight category: 40 percent of men and 30 percent of women.
To date, this is the largest study of its kind. Over 168,000 participants between the ages of 18 and 80 were included. The measurement used was body-mass index (BMI), which is the ratio of body fat for you depending on your height and weight. Rates of obesity varied depending on the country surveyed. East and Southeast Asia had the lowest rate of obesity, coming in at 7 percent for men and women, while Canada weighed in at a rate of 36 percent for both sexes. Women in the Middle East and Africa were found to be above the average rate.
Just because the Asian countries had a lower rate of obesity didn't mean they were better off. In fact, they're quickly gaining on the rest of the world, as the proportion of the adults considered overweight was the same as those countries that have the higher rates of obesity.
That's a staggering number of people who are now at risk for cancer as well as a multitude of other chronic diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
One consideration to look at is your waist circumference, since belly fat is the most dangerous of all, linked to a greater risk for disease. Women should be concerned if their waistlines are over 35 inches, and men over 40 inches. For men, an increase of 5.5 inches above normal translated into a 36 percent increase in heart disease, while 6 inches for women increased risk by 40 percent. And those extra inches increased diabetes risk by 59 and a whopping 83 percent, respectively.
Kids aren't off the hook, either. If your child or grandchild is overweight, now is the time to take action. Yet another study is underscoring that overweight in children leads to increased risk of heart disease—at tender ages that a century ago people would have found impossible to believe.
These chronic diseases are an example of preventable disease that are directly related to lifestyle. Change can take place in our own homes and at our own dining tables. We can't help the whole world, but we can take responsibility for our own families. We have the knowledge and we know what needs to be done to turn those statistics around, so let's each put it into practice.
And it doesn't require any clever gimmicks or an inordinate amount of time. The most successful people at maintaining healthy weight are those who quickly pick up on the idea of substitution: Old habits traded in for newer, healthier ones.
Aim to add a couple of new recipes into your weekly repertoire, toss out unwholesome snacks lingering in your cupboards, and modify some of the meals you are already used to. That's a start.
