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Over 40% of cancers due to lifestyle, says review

bbc.co.uk

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Re: Over 40% of cancers due to lifestyle, says review

#41

Post by barrkel »

AznHisoka wrote: post #17
barrkel wrote: post #15

So if these 40% of cancers were eliminated, what's the chances that the survivors would have ended up with one of the remaining 60%? You have to die of something. What's important is years of high-quality life, rather than merely avoiding death from any specific ailment. And of course, quality is ultimately a subjective measure. All the behaviours that you must conform to, to avoid these specific deaths, may themselv…

Eating healthy and exercising improves the quality of your life right now, as well as in the future. As does cutting back on alcohol, and smoking.

Almost all food advertised or described as "healthy", I've found to be neutral at best, to actively unpleasant. High fibre, lots of vegetables, fruit, etc.; I actively dislike almost all of it. My favourite foods are lamb, butter, cheese and freshly baked goods, to the point that my morning ritual, before breakfast, involves a (scooter) trip to a bakery.

Similarly, I've never enjoyed exercise. I used to cycle to and from school every day, about 6 miles, fairly high intensity (due to my laziness, I'd start late). My aerobic capacity was certainly higher then; I could run for perhaps 30 minutes, where I'd hazard a guess that I'd be out of breath after 10 minutes now. I'm not overweight, have no difficulty walking, jumping, running, climbing hills etc. when I get the occasion to on vacation and such. But the thought of actively exercising fills me with weariness. Not enjoyable.

What I'm getting at is that I have a lifestyle that I massively enjoy, and it took a lot of experimentation and experience to discover the things I like best. Whether it is specifically healthy or not is secondary, by a long way, to how enjoyable it is.

Re: Over 40% of cancers due to lifestyle, says review

#42

Post by barrkel »

ThomPete wrote: post #36
monochromatic wrote: post #32

With socialized medicine, these people are stealing from the state. Britain should outlaw smoking, drinking, and eating fatty foods. Two servings of vegetables per day is now compulsory, enforceable by a fine of 20 shillings.

Or they should drop socialized medicine so that people can do whatever they want.

Of course, people might not be able to do everything they want without socialized medicine, whether it's because they can't afford the risk, privatized medicine costs too much, etc. A liberty principle doesn't cut evenly one way or the other on this issue.

Re: Over 40% of cancers due to lifestyle, says review

#43

Post by DevX101 »

melling wrote: post #26

The top comment is from a healthy smoker of 65. People always love to discuss how they or someone they know has smoked their entire life and never had a problem. I know lots of smokers who still aren't convinced of the health issues. Seems like there's still a long way to go.

Susceptibility to lung cancer due to smoking is at least partly genetic. If you have certain variants of a specific gene (don't have time for the lit search right now), smoking won't significantly increase your chances of lung cancer.

The problem is not everyone has this gene variant, and you probably don't want to be playing Russian Roullette with your health.

Re: Over 40% of cancers due to lifestyle, says review

#44

Post by giardini »

pflats wrote: post #34

I have a lifestyle cancer: melanoma. That said, I didn't realize "going outside with short hair and no hat" was a bad lifestyle choice until it was too late, so I'm posting here: Hey fair skinned folks! Just wearing sunscreen IS NOT ENOUGH . Wear a hat if you're going to spend more than a short time outside! If you have a family history of skin cancer, ask your barber to keep an eye out for moles when you're getting…

Using sunscreen reduces the body's production of vitamin D, a potent anti-cancer agent:

http://greathealinggetaways.com/Sunscreenarticle.html

Sunscreens often contain carcinogens:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potential_health_risks_of_sunsc...

Consequently staying indoors and using sunscreen may _increase_ your likelihood of developing cancer.

Children who avoid sunshine will get rickets, a disease that was once almost absent from the US population:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/8128781/Middle-...

Nonetheless, the fair-skinned must balance their exposure carefully. Good news is that their skin produces vitamin D more efficiently than darker skin, so the fair-skinned can obtain vitamin D in a shorter exposure period (minutes a day):

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/painter/2009-04-19-your-...

Re: Over 40% of cancers due to lifestyle, says review

#45

Post by noonespecial »

monochromatic wrote: post #32

With socialized medicine, these people are stealing from the state. Britain should outlaw smoking, drinking, and eating fatty foods. Two servings of vegetables per day is now compulsory, enforceable by a fine of 20 shillings.

I wouldn't go that far, but it is reasonable to tax those things in order to internalize that cost to the individual. The trick is getting the politicians to spend the tax mitigating the effects instead of selling favors.

Re: Over 40% of cancers due to lifestyle, says review

#46

Post by nsxwolf »

xer0 wrote: post #39
ukgent2 wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It depends on the person, I got a nan, 96, walks to town 3 times a week, still rides her bike, been smoking 60 a day for 40 years, and recently cut back to 40. If i compare her to my other nan 86 frail and pretty much falling apart, now guess which one has had the better lifestyle? the second, very well off always comfortable. At 96 i think she gets up to keep smoking, and if that keeps her alive then keep doing it.

Unfortunately you have to live your whole life to discover whether you're an exception or a statistic. I'll go with the statistics for my personal choices.

But most smokers will be exceptions. Most smokers will not get cancer. They get cancer significantly more often than non-smokers, but that's not scary sounding enough, I guess.

Re: Over 40% of cancers due to lifestyle, says review

#47

Post by richcollins »

itmag wrote: post #37

I look around at my colleagues and see apparent misuse of the body. Carbs and fat for lunch every day, smoking, no exercise, sitting in a chair all day long, buckets of coffee, stress, poor posture and body alignment, doing the same shit every day, poor outlook on life, no sunshine on you during half of the year, etc. Of course this is going to wreck a person. Yet no one seems to even be conscious of the wrongness of…

Where is the evidence that dietary fat and coffee increase cancer risk?

Re: Over 40% of cancers due to lifestyle, says review

#48

Post by fauigerzigerk »

helipad wrote: post #9

This was on BBC news the other day. Apparently eating well, drinking in moderation, not smoking and regular exercise reduce the risk of cancer. When interviewed, man hiding under rock expressed surprise and gratitude for the update.

Interestingly though, the article doesn't directly mention exercise. Obviously, obesity and lack of exercise are related, but I'm surprised that exercise isn't helpful in its own right. Or maybe the study or the article just didn't cover it, which I would find rather surprising as well.

Re: Over 40% of cancers due to lifestyle, says review

#49

Post by simpsond »

MartinMond wrote: post #3

Can someone explain how lack of fruit and vegetables leads to cancer? I can understand it leading to colon cancer, but does it also lead to other kinds of cancer? AFAIK even if you never eat fruits/vegetables you aren't lacking any micronutrients?

I don't think the study makes that claim. They are claiming that 6% of men with cancer don't eat enough fruits and vegetables (i'm not sure what enough is). There is no way to infer whether or not the lack of fruits and vegetables was the root cause of cancer in those cases.

Re: Over 40% of cancers due to lifestyle, says review

#50

Post by itmag »

richcollins wrote: post #47
itmag wrote: post #37

I look around at my colleagues and see apparent misuse of the body. Carbs and fat for lunch every day, smoking, no exercise, sitting in a chair all day long, buckets of coffee, stress, poor posture and body alignment, doing the same shit every day, poor outlook on life, no sunshine on you during half of the year, etc. Of course this is going to wreck a person. Yet no one seems to even be conscious of the wrongness of…

Where is the evidence that dietary fat and coffee increase cancer risk?

It was just a remark on poor health in general.
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