Healthier lifestyles 'could cut cancer death rates'

Conclusion This prospective cohort study assessed the number of cancer cases and related deaths associated with poor lifestyle factors in a sample of US health professionals. As the findings demonstrate, a large number of cancer cases and deaths in both men and women can be attributed to a high-risk lifestyle, such as being overweight, smoking, drinking heavily, or being physically inactive. Worryingly, a poor lifestyle was estimated to account for an even greater number of cancers in the general population. These findings are in agreement with much research, which has found that a healthier lifestyle may reduce the risk of various cancers. The study has both strengths and limitations to consider. It contained a large number of participants and excluded types of cancer where incidence may be related to environmental factors rather than lifestyle, both adding strength to the findings. It did have limitations, however: The use of questionnaires for collecting information is prone to bias, either by people reporting what they think they should be doing rather than what they are doing, or because of difficulty recalling information over a period of time. Only medical professionals were included in the study. This group are potentially more health conscious, so may not be a good reflection of the whole population. This is supported by the fact that even the high-risk study group were healthier than the US population overall, and PAR estimates for cancer from poor lif...
Source: NHS News Feed - Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Cancer Lifestyle/exercise Source Type: news