Eat less to cut risk of cancer

Cancer expert Dr Greg Martin said people needed to be fully aware of the hidden costs of a poor diet and lack of exercise.

Excess fat around the stomach increases the production of the hormone oestrogen, which can be carcinogenic, he said.

With predictions that 12.6million Britons will be classed as obese by 2010, Dr Martin said a surge in cancer cases would follow "as surely as night follows day".

But he said a crisis was avoidable if people made "simple changes" to their lifestyle.

"Ultimately each person has to make that commitment and at the moment too many people are dying because they are not taking action," he said.

Referring to the 12.6million prediction, he said: "It's a huge chunk of the population.

"Each of these people is going to have an increased risk of cancer – but this is an avoidable risk factor.

"This kind of increase cannot be explained by anything genetic. It's almost certainly a function of behaviour. It's something we can do something about."

Experts have already warned that rising levels of obesity will saddle the Health Service with many more cases of heart disease and Type 2 diabetes.

But Dr Martin, science and research manager of the World Cancer Research Fund, said obesity was also linked to hormone-sensitive cancers such as breast cancer and cancer of the womb lining.

It is also known to be linked to oesophagus and bowel cancer.

He said obesity could trigger the disease because the adipose tissue, which stores fat around the stomach, produces the potentially carcinogenic hormone oestrogen.

"There has been plenty of attention recently on the problems of obesity, but a lot of people still do not realise how closely obesity is related to cancer," he continued.

"People getting fatter will lead to an increase in the number of cancer cases as surely as night follows day.

"You also have to add into the mix that cancer is largely an older person's disease, and the UK has an ageing population.

"So if you have an ageing population that is getting more obese, there could be really serious consequences in terms of the number of people getting cancer if we do not act now. It's a cancer timebomb."

In 1980, only 8 per cent of women and 6 per cent of men in the UK were classified as obese. Those figures have risen to 24 per cent of women and 23 per cent of men.

In 2003, an estimated 4.3million British men were obese – a figure that is expected to rise to 6.6million by 2010.

Obesity among women is predicted to rise from 4.8million to 6million by the same year.

Chillingly, Dr Martin compared the rise in obesity from generation to generation to "a virus spreading".

He added: "The frustrating thing is that people can make simple changes to their lifestyle to reduce their chances of getting cancer.

"It really is as simple as eating more healthily, making sure your portion size is not too big, and taking regular exercise.

"When you think what a devastating disease cancer is, it really is worth taking these simple steps because they can make a big difference."

Dr Martin's analysis of the effects of obesity also has serious implications for an already beleaguered NHS.

Two weeks ago, a Swedish study found that the UK had one of the worst records for providing access to cancer drugs in the western world.

It ranked the NHS in the bottom group, delivering a withering verdict on its slow and low' uptake of drugs.

Although five-year cancer survival rates are increasing – now at 53 per cent for women and 43 per cent for men – they remain much lower than comparable countries such as France, where the rates are 71 per cent and 53 per cent respectively.