Recommendations to help reduce the risk of cancer
This year World Cancer Day falls on Friday 4th February. The purpose of the day is to raise awareness of the disease and to help people take the right steps to prevent them from getting Cancer.
The most up to date statistics on Cancer rates and deaths are available from GLOBOCAN 2008 published in June 2010. According to GLOBOCAN around 12.7 million people worldwide are diagnosed with cancer each year and 7.6 million people die from the disease. It has been estimated that if people do not take the necessary precautions to limit the risk of getting cancer, 26 million people could be diagnosed with the disease by 2030.
However, figures taken from the official World Cancer Day website also shows that 20 to 30 percent of all cancers can be prevented and one third can be cured by early diagnosis and treatment. Thus the aim of the one day event is to help people understand that by changing ones lifestyle they can prevent cancer and live a healthier and longer life.
Below are some of the recommended steps to help prevent cancer:
1. Drink less Alcohol
It is widely acknowledged that alcohol abuse has a major impact on public health. It is ranked as the fifth leading risk factor for premature death and disability in the world.
Although the link between alcohol and cancer is still not completely understood, there is an association found between alcohol and mouth, oesophageal, laryngeal, pharyngeal, breast and liver cancers. Therefore the more alcohol one consumes the higher risk of getting cancer.
By drinking moderately and keeping within the Governments recommended guidelines can be key in preventing cancer.
2. Maintain a Healthy Diet
Eating healthily and doing regular exercise can be crucial in preventing cancer.
A report published by The World Cancer Research Fund/American Institute for Cancer Research (WCRF/AICR) called Food, Nutrition Physical Activity and the Prevention of Cancer: is the most extensive and comprehensive literature on diet, physical activity and cancer currently available.
The report which was developed by 21 leading scientists from around the world, put forward 10 recommendations for the prevention of cancer. Some of these measures included the following:
- To be lean, but not underweight
- Limit consumption of energy dense foods (processed food, high in added sugar, and high in fat)
- Eat more fruit and vegetables
- Limit consumption of red meats (pork, lamb, beef)
3. Do More Exercise
Statistics from the World Health Organisation (WHO) reveal that globally there are approximately 1.6 billion adults who are overweight and around 400 million who are clinically obese . It is expected that by 2015 these figures will have risen to 2.3 billion and > 700 million respectively.
Undeniably, obesity has many health implications such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and it may account for 20-30 percent of several cancers. As such, experts state that by preventing excessive weight gain by being more active physically, can reduce the risk of many cancers.
It is recommended that people partake in at least 30 minutes of physical activity each day.
4. Avoid Smoking
Statistics from the WHO shows that tobacco is the single biggest cause of cancer in the world. It is responsible for killing 5 million a year - an average of one person every six seconds. Smoking is responsible for a quarter of all cancer deaths, including, lung, mouth, throat cancers as well as, liver, pancreas, stomach, breast, bowel, kidney and bladder.
As such, studies continually demonstrate that by stopping tobacco use greatly reduces the risk of cancers and other short and long term health risks.
Get Healthy!!
The Royal Society for Public health through Training Solutions run a Foundation Programme in Health Improvement. This particular course offers candidates the opportunity of developing a firm foundation in health improvement while also making aware the health and lifestyle choices that affect personal and public health. For more information click here or contact Nicolette Smith.
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