What can I do myself to lower my risk of cancer?
By not smoking, limiting alcohol, maintaining a healthy weight, and moving enough, you can meaningfully lower your risk of several common cancers, even if cancer runs in your family.
Research involving nearly 196,000 people shows that living more healthily is linked to up to 11% lower cancer risk for each step taken in the right direction. This held true for 8 of the 13 types of cancer studied. Even people with a high inherited risk benefited more than average. Genetics is therefore no reason to do nothing.
The two most powerful steps are quitting smoking and cutting back on alcohol sharply or giving it up altogether. Smoking increases the risk of several types of cancer. In women, smoking also makes an infection with the virus that causes cervical cancer harder to clear, which raises that risk even further.
A healthy weight is the third major lever. Being overweight increases the risk of breast, bowel, and prostate cancer. Eating plenty of wholegrains, vegetables, fruit, and legumes, and little red meat and processed foods, is linked to a lower risk. That evidence is based on associations rather than proven causes, but the picture is consistent.
Being physically active regularly lowers your cancer risk. The direction is consistently positive, although the exact size of the effect varies across studies. Bowel cancer in people under 50 has nearly doubled since the early 1990s, probably due to changes in diet and lifestyle. Three in four young patients have no family history of the disease, which shows that lifestyle plays an independent role here.
For cervical cancer specifically, getting vaccinated against the human papillomavirus (a common sexually transmitted virus) and getting enough antioxidants and folate (a B vitamin) can help reduce the risk, alongside not smoking. The Mediterranean diet is mentioned as protective against ovarian cancer, but that evidence comes from a single review and is limited.
The claims are based on several large studies and combined analyses. The largest study included nearly 196,000 participants followed for an average of 10 years. For individual dietary factors and vitamin D, the evidence is moderate to limited and shows an association, not a proven cause. There are no studies testing the full lifestyle package together in a controlled setting.
Does exercise lower my risk of cancer?
Regular physical activity is associated with a clearly lower risk of several cancers in large population studies. Alongside that, aim to reduce the number of hours you spend sitting during the day, and use sun protection if you do a lot of outdoor sport.
Which lifestyle factors reduce your cancer risk the most?
Not smoking, a healthy weight, regular exercise and little or no alcohol have the strongest and best-supported protective effect. Combining all these factors lowers cancer risk the most, even when a hereditary predisposition is present.
Does being overweight increase my risk of cancer, and if so, which types?
Excess weight increases your risk of at least 13 types of cancer, including uterine, colorectal, breast and liver cancer. Losing weight reduces that risk, although it remains unclear whether all methods of weight loss are equally effective for immune defence against cancer.
Does eating less red meat lower your risk of cancer?
Eating less red meat and processed meat probably lowers your risk of colorectal cancer; the association is strongest and best supported for processed meat, so that is the first thing to cut back on.
Does poor sleep increase my risk of cancer?
Poor sleep, and sleep apnea and night-shift work in particular, is associated with an increased cancer risk. Whether you personally face a higher risk depends on which sleep problems you have; at the very least, have any apnea symptoms evaluated.
Does sitting a lot increase my risk of cancer, even if I exercise?
Sitting a lot increases your risk of certain cancers, even if you exercise. In addition to moving regularly, try to reduce your sitting time itself, because the two only partially compensate for each other.