Research suggests that it may be possible to significantly reduce the risk of developing bowel cancer by adopting 5 healthy behaviors – maintaining a healthy weight; having low abdominal fat; participating in regular physical activity; not smoking and limiting alcohol; eating a diet high in fruits, vegetables, fish, yoghurt, nuts and seeds, and foods rich in fiber, and low amounts of red and processed meat. Dr Krasimira Aleksandrova and colleagues at the German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbruecke analyzed the data of 347,237 men and women from 10 countries taking part in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort study. Over the 12-year study period, 3,759 cases of bowel cancer were recorded. Results showed that the more healthy behaviors the participants adopted, the lower their risk of bowel cancer. Compared to people who had followed up to 1 healthy behavior, those who practiced a combination of 2, 3, 4 and all the 5 healthy behaviors had a 13%, 21%, 34% and 37% lower risk of developing bowel cancer, respectively. However, the authors noted that the impact of the healthy behaviors appeared to be stronger in men than in women. “Estimates based on our study populations suggest that up to 22% of the cases in men and 11% of the cases in women would have been prevented if all five of the healthy lifestyle behaviors had been followed. Our results particularly demonstrate the potential for prevention in men who are at a higher risk of bowel cancer than women,” said Dr Alexsandrova. “These data provide additional incentive to individuals, medical professionals and public health authorities to invest in healthy lifestyle initiatives. Each person can contribute a lot to avoid cancer, the more healthy lifestyle changes, the better.”
