According to the report by the American Institute for Cancer Research and the World Cancer Research Fund, other cancer risk factors are birth weight, pregnancy, breastfeeding, and adult height and weight ..
One of 21 authors, Harvard School of Public Health epidemiology and nutrition professor Dr. Walter J. Willet said, "We need to think about cancer as the product of many long-term influences, not as something that 'just happens."
The report, Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity, and the Prevention of Cancer: A Global Perspective, lists recommendations to prevent cancer - stay lean, exercise at least 30 minutes daily, limit red meat and alcohol, and avoid processed meat.
It also found that breast-feeding can lower the risk of breast cancer. Breast-fed infants also have a lower risk of becoming overweight or obese thereby also lowering the risk of cancer.
Willet said, "The evidence is uniformly strong on breast-feeding, and the fact that it offers cancer protection to both mothers and their children is why we made breast-feeding one of our 10 Recommendations to Prevent Cancer."
American Institute for Cancer Research nutrition adviser Karen Collins said, "If we are watching our weight, working regular physical activity into our daily life and eating a healthy balance of foods, we could prevent a third of cancers. Extra weight is not dead weight. It's an active metabolic tissue that produces substances that promote the development of cancer."
She said,"This is a good-news report. People should take this message to be empowering."
