A new guide released by the World Cancer Research Fund gives tips for small changes that could dramatically decrease the incidence of this disease. There is strong evidence that being overweight increases the risk of 10 cancers: bowel, esophagus, pancreas, kidney, womb, breast, ovary, gallbladder, prostate (advanced) and liver. We could prevent about one in six of these cancer cases by maintaining a healthy weight.
Six simple ways to reduce the risk of cancer by healthy weight management:
1. Find your starting point and see where you really stand. One of the easiest ways to find out if you’re at a healthy weight is to check your Body Mass Index (BMI). This tells you whether you’re in the healthy weight range for your height, so it’s a useful guide for most adults. A healthy BMI for men and women is between 18.5 and 24.9.
2. Take control of your snacking, as just reducing your daily calorie intake by 100 calories can make a big difference. Swap sweets, potato chips or fried foods for alternatives like a piece of fruit or veggie sticks. Vegetables and fruits are the foundation of a healthy diet, and it is still recommended that we eat at least five portions of each every day. Try something new and delicious like cucumber hummus with dill.
3. Change up portions of the foods on your plate. Try making the larger part be vegetables and the smaller portion be meat, fish or a vegetable-based protein. Most diets make the meat portions the biggest part of the meal. The benefit of less calories consumed is great, but you will also save money implementing this strategy.
4. One way to slim down is by having one meat-free day each week or swapping out meats for fish once a week. According to environmental studies, if every US citizen went vegetarian for just one day a week, we would save 100 billion gallons of water, 1.5 million pounds of vegetation, 70 million gallons of gas, 3 million acres of land and 33 tons of antibiotics.
5. Stand up whenever you are on the phone or consider setting up a stand-up desk for a portion of your work day. You could also make progress by committing to a daily 15- to 30-minute walk. Not only will just a little effort help reduce the risk of weight-related cancers, but you will just feel better naturally. The more you get up and get moving, the more you decrease your risk for cancer.
6. Sign up for the World Cancer Research Fund I CAN campaign which began May 11, 2015. You might just need a little encouragement and additional ideas. You can receive daily motivational emails for 21 days. Tips will include healthy recipe ideas, suggestions on how to be more active and healthy diet swaps. You may not implement them all, but if you put even a few into practice, you’ll be doing something to help reduce your cancer risk.
Sources:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk
http://www.wcrf-uk.org
http://www.alternet.org
Obesity statistics come from the Statistics on Obesity, Physical Activity and Diet, England 2014, the Welsh Health Survey 2013, the Scottish Health Survey 2012, and the Health Survey Northern Ireland 2012/13.
