Do Cancer Prevention Recommendations Work?
We've all heard the general cancer prevention guidelines: don't smoke, eat fruits and vegetables, maintain a health body weight... But do these recommendations really help prevent cancer? Fortunately, this very question has been studied and the answer is an unqualified "yes"!
A Study of Cancer Prevention Guidelines
The American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) studied the diet and lifestyle habits of nearly 30,000 women for about 12 years to investigate this question. What they found was nothing short of astonishing.
First, the researchers found that the women who followed none or only one of the AICR cancer prevention recommendations had a 35% higher risk of being diagnosed with cancer when compared with women who were following six to nine of the recommendations. In other words, failing to follow at least six of the cancer prevention recommendations significantly increased cancer risk.
Second, the researchers found that the women who followed none or only one of the cancer prevention recommendations had a 43% higher risk of dying of cancer when compared with women who were following six to nine of the recommendations. In other words, failing to follow at least six of the cancer prevention recommendations significantly increased the chances of dying of cancer.
What do these results mean?
If the women in this study are like most people, then this research tells us that cancer prevention guidelines do work. Following basic recommendations for reducing cancer risk is a practical step that you can take to help yourself stay healthy. Furthermore, not only do these recommendations help prevent cancer in the first place, they will help reduce risk of other diseases including heart disease.
The AICR offers many guidelines for reducing cancer risk. The researchers who conducted this study considered the nine AICR recommendations that they believed to be most important for preventing cancer in the United States.
The nine AICR recommendations that were studied are:
1. Body mass index (BMI) and weight gain since age 18. Researchers use a measure called body mass index (BMI) to study the connection between body weight and health. BMI is a way to measure body weight, while taking into account a person's height. This makes it a better way to gauge if someone is overweight. A BMI of 25 kilograms per meter squared (kg/m2) or higher means a person is overweight.
2. Physical activity (exercise).
3. Amount of vegetables and fruit eaten daily (not including legumes (beans) and starchy vegetables).
4. Amount of complex carbohydrates eaten daily.
5. Amount of alcohol used daily.
6. Amount of red meat (beef, lamb, pork, and products from these meats) eaten daily.
7. Amount of fat, as a percent of total calories, in the diet.
8. Amount of sodium (salt) in the diet.
9. Cigarette smoking.
The bottom line? Our choices do matter and we all can use food and nutrition to improve our health starting today.
See our article on AICR Cancer Prevention Guidelines for more information on how to put these guidelines to work for you.