Study finds nearly half of adult cancer deaths in US could be prevented: Here are lifestyle choices to change

The study, released Thursday by the American Cancer Society, looked at 30 types of cancer and 18 risk factors that could be changed by lifestyle choices, including things like smoking and body weight.

Overall, cigarette smoking was the leading risk factor for cancer, contributing to nearly 20% of all cancer cases and 30% of all cancer deaths.

The Factors: They’re all things that can potentially be changed or avoided to reduce cancer risk:

  • Cigarette smoking
  • Secondhand smoke
  • Excess body weight
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Consumption of red and processed meat
  • Low consumption of fruits, vegetables and dietary fiber and calcium
  • Physical inactivity
  • Exposure to ultraviolet radiation
  • Infection from several cancer-causing viruses (Not getting vaccindated for them)

The causes of cancer the study said were preventable broke down like this:

∎ Cigarette smoking was the top risk factor, accounting for 19.3% of cases.

∎ Excess body weight was a risk factor in 7.6% of cases.

∎ Alcohol consumption was linked to 5.4% of cases.

∎ Ultraviolet radiation caused 4.6% of cases.

https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/4766101-cancer-cases-linked-modifiable-risks/

The Full Research Paper (Open Access)

Proportion and number of cancer cases and deaths attributable to potentially modifiable risk factors in the United States, 2019

https://acsjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.3322/caac.21858

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Cigarette sales and lung cancer deaths are the same curve, shifted 25 years.

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