The Guardian (UK) website reported on Dec. 7 with the title: In more than 40 percent of cases, lifestyle changes can prevent the emergence of cancer. According to the most comprehensive study of cancer risk factors to date, about 40 percent of cancers in women and 45 percent in men could be prevented by healthier lifestyles, including drinking less alcohol, smoking less and losing weight. Cancer Research UK, which funded the research project, said about 134,000 people in the U.K. could have avoided cancer if they had taken better care of themselves. While by far the biggest risk factor is smoking, which causes 23% of cancers in men and 15.6% in women, there are some surprising factors, for example, the study found that gaining too much weight is more likely to lead to breast cancer in women than drinking alcohol; 9.2% of cancers are triggered by a poorly structured diet, including too little fruit and vegetables, too much salt and red meat, and too little fibre intake. 5.5% of cancers are caused by obesity and overweight, but the rate has increased to 6.9% (10,800 cancer cases) in women compared to 4.1% (6,500 cancer cases) in men. The difference is mainly in breast cancer, where being overweight is a factor in 80% of cases of post-menopausal breast cancer. Alcohol was associated with 4 percent of cancers (4.6 percent in men and 3.3 percent in women). Too much sunbathing and the use of sunlamp bath beds triggered 3.5% of cancers. Failure to achieve the recommended daily intake of five servings of fruits and vegetables put men at greater risk of cancer, with 6.1 percent of cancers in men being caused in this way, dropping to 3.4 percent in women. The findings were published in the British Journal of Cancer. Queen Mary, University of London, epidemiologist Max? Professor Parkin said: “Many people believe that cancer is fated or ‘in the genes’ and that whether you get cancer or not is entirely down to luck. After examining all the evidence, it is clear that about 40 percent of cancers are caused by things that we normally have the power to change. We didn’t expect to find that eating fruits and vegetables would prove so important in preventing men from getting cancer. In addition, in women, we didn’t expect to find that being overweight was more likely to cause cancer than alcohol.” The study also looked at other cancer-causing risks, such as infection with things like human papillomavirus (which can cause cervical cancer), occupations dealing with asbestos at work, lack of physical activity, radiation, lack of breastfeeding, use of hormone replacement therapy and more. Rachel Thompson, director of scientific research at the World Cancer Research Fund, said: “This study is a great opportunity to learn more about the causes of cervical cancer. Thompson said, “This study gives us ample evidence that our risk of cancer is determined by our lifestyles. We hope this study will help remind people that cancer is not a simple matter of fate and that people can make changes today to reduce their risk of developing cancer in the future.”