A new study shows that nearly 50% of all cancer deaths in the United States could have been prevented by altering lifestyle choices.
Scientists are calling them “modifiable” risk factors, and they include habits like smoking, poor diet and other unhealthy behaviors.
The numbers speak for themselves: 45 percent of all cancer deaths and 42 percent of all diagnosed cancer cased fall in this category.
The study was conducted by the American Cancer Society and used data from 2014. A similar study from 1981 in the UK showed that nearly two-thirds of all cancer deaths were attributable to these same factors.
The highest risk was from smoking (29 percent), followed by excess body weight (6.5 percent) and alcohol consumption (4 percent.)
More details on the study can be found here.
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