A study by the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) in Heidelberg confirms that healthy habits are associated with a clearly lower risk of cancer. The team analysed data from 287,745 UK Biobank participants who were cancer-free at the outset, followed for a median of 11.5 years.
The researchers assessed five factors: smoking, alcohol consumption, diet, physical activity and body weight. People who met four or five recommendations had an overall cancer risk 29% lower than those who met only zero or one.
Of the 27 cancer types analysed individually, 13 showed a significant link to a healthier lifestyle, including cancers of the lung, colorectum, stomach, liver, pancreas, kidney and bladder, as well as post-menopausal breast cancer. Smoking was associated with 12 cancer types and excess weight with 10.
According to the study’s estimates, published in the British Journal of Cancer, around 52% of lung cancer cases and 66% of laryngeal cancer cases can be attributed to not fully following the five recommendations.
