Rebecca Todd writes in Stuff about new statistics out from the World Cancer Research Fund showing that New Zealand has the fourth highest rate of cancer in world: kiwi women are ranked second highest for cancer rates, and kiwi men eighth.
However, health experts say a third of kiwi cancer could be prevented by healthier lifestyles.
An excerpt: (read in full here)
“The league tables showed that high-income countries generally had significantly higher cancer rates than lower income ones. This was explained partly by richer countries being better at diagnosing and recording new cases of cancer.
“However, a large part was put down to high income countries, such as New Zealand, having higher levels of obesity and alcohol consumption, and lower levels of physical activity.
….
“Scientists estimated that about a third of the most common cancers in high-income countries could be prevented by maintaining a healthy weight, being more physically active and eating more healthily. However, the trend around the world was in the other direction as people were becoming more overweight and less active. Stopping smoking and avoiding sunburn were also important.”