Overtaking smoking: Obesity could become chief avoidable cancer cause

With smoking rates in decline and obesity on the rise, it could surpass smoking as the biggest killer, the chief executive of Cancer Research UK said as it published new research.

Obesity could overtake smoking as the chief avoidable cause of cancer-related deaths, the world’s largest independent funder of cancer research said Friday.

With smoking rates in decline and obesity on the rise, it could surpass smoking as the biggest killer, the chief executive of Cancer Research UK said as it published new research. (Shutterstock)

With smoking rates in decline and obesity on the rise, it could surpass smoking as the biggest killer, the chief executive of Cancer Research UK said as it published new research.

“Obesity is potentially the new smoking, if we’re not careful,” said Harpal Kumar.

“My sense would be it’ll be some time in next couple of decades that we’ll see those two switch around.”

Following a major new study of 2015 cancer data, the charity found that 37.7 % of all cancers diagnosed in Britain each year could be prevented through lifestyle changes. Smoking remains the biggest avoidable cause of cancer, a factor in 15.1 % of preventable cases - down from 19.4 % in 2011 - followed by obesity at 6.3 % - up from 5.5 %.

Next came overexposure to ultraviolet radiation from the sun and sunbeds and occupational exposure at 3.8 % each, infections (3.6 %), alcohol (3.3 %) and eating too little fibre (3.3 %).

“Leading a healthy life doesn’t guarantee that a person won’t get cancer, but it can stack the odds in your favour,” Kumar said.

“These figures show that we each can take positive steps to help reduce our individual risk of the disease.

“Prevention is the most cost-effective way of beating cancer.”

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