12 ways to reduce your cancer risk

Healthy body weight

Take action to be a healthy body weight.

There is strong evidence that people can reduce their risk of cancer by adopting healthy dietary and activity behaviours. In European populations, people who follow a healthy lifestyle that adheres to the recommendations for cancer prevention have an estimated 18% lower risk of cancer compared with people whose lifestyle and body weight do not meet the recommendations. This risk reduction was estimated for a healthy lifestyle that includes: being a normal body weight (a body mass index [BMI] between 18.5 and 24.9 kg/m²) and avoiding foods that promote weight gain, such as sugary drinks and fast foods; being moderately active for at least 30 minutes per day; breastfeeding (for women); eating mostly foods of plant origin; limiting intake of red meat; avoiding processed meats; and limiting consumption of alcoholic drinks.